Hunted
by Loupe- Garou
Summary: Beacon Hills has become a madhouse, to say the least. What happens when Selene shows up, giving the Hunters another target, adding to the danger in Beacon Hills, and lending Derek an infallible love intrest.
1. Arrival

**Teen Wolf**

I ran as fast as I could, trying desperately to get away from the girl with the bow and arrow. She was shooting these arrows at me that flashed white with fire, burning anything it touched. I turned back for a moment to see her chasing me, arrow poised, an expression of hatred labeling the features of her face. I growled viciously at her, sprinting harder toward the opposite direction only to run head-first into a brick wall of muscled werewolf. I backed away, growling at my offender. He stopped, looking at me, and giving me a good amount of time to analyze him. His hair was black, his eyes golden and his nails were razor sharp. I glanced back to see that the girl had ceased fire. She stood, watching me, as I faced off with the werewolf in front of me. They obviously knew each other. "Who are you?" He finally said. I paused in my assessment of the situation. "We aren't gonna hurt you." I laughed, absent of any humor. "Really, do you expect me to believe that when you're girlfriend here nearly just killed me with flash flaming arrows?" I asked. He looked up at her, and she shrugged. "I thought she was with Derek." She explained. I looked back at the guy in front of me. "My name is Selene." I said after a moment of hesitation. "And no, I haven't killed anyone if you're wondering." I said.

"Scott." He said after a moment of hesitation. "And this is Allison." He said, looking at the huntress as she moved toward us. Finally out of courtesy, I stood up like a normal human being, and looked at the both of them, crossing my arms in deference. Scott stood as well, and I could feel his eyes on my face as he analyzed me. "Wait, you," I said, gesturing to Scott, "Are a werewolf. And you," I said, looking over at the girl named Allison, "Are a hunter?" I asked in confusion. They both nodded. "What the hell?" I said. They exchanged sidelong glances. "It's complicated." Scott said. I nodded skeptically. "Why are you here in Beacon Hills?" He asked. "I was on the run from some hunters. I lost them in Arizona and decided it would be better if I stayed on the move." I explained. I glanced at Allison. "I guess I was wrong." I said. "I'm, sorry about the flash arrows." She said. I shrugged. "How many other werewolves are there?" I asked. "Why do you assume there are other werewolves?" Allison said. "Because typically, hunters don't settle in one place unless there's more than one werewolf. I was running with a pack, but they were wiped out a while ago." I explained. "Now it's just me." Scott and Allison looked at each other. "Look, I doubt this is the kind of place you wanna be rite now. It's like-" "A warzone." Allison said, finishing Scott's sentence. "It's gonna get ugly. Maybe even worse than anything you've ever seen." She explained. I shrugged. "Bring it on. I'm up for a little fight." I said. Scott sighed in what seemed like frustration. "You don't understand. You could die here." He said. I nodded- as if this was supposed to be new information. "That's a bit of package deal when you're a werewolf." I said.

With a sigh, I turned away, walking back in the direction of my house. "Oh," I said, glancing over my shoulder. "You'll be seeing me in school. I guess then you can tell me all about what I've missed." I explained. Then I took off on all fours, moving through the woods before either of them had time to respond. Trees flew by as I easily made my way through the forest, pulling myself forward. I followed my own scent back to my house, given most of the forest looked nearly identical. While most teenagers lived with their parents or their "legal guardians", I lived with Louise. She was a human, but she knew much more than the general public about what really went on in towns like this. She stayed with me because she (put in her words), she believed I needed some sort of "parental figure" in my life, werewolf or not. And in truth, it was kind of nice not being alone all of the time. She was good company, plus it was slightly less suspicious for me to go to school if everyone at least thought I had a "mother". In reality though, Louise really was kind of like a mother to me.

I arrived home in what felt like under three minutes. I had told Louise that I had gone out to survey the area. Little had either of us known that I would run into a werewolf, werewolf- hunter duo in the process. I up-righted myself as I walked up the porch steps. Our house was just on the edge of the woods, leading into town, so it was somewhat convenient that while we were still posted near the city, we had some sort of cover from the forest as well. I pulled my keys from my pocket, and unlocked the front door, stepping inside. I had done most of my unpacking this morning, though Louise had left quite a few boxes laying around the house. "Louise, I'm home!" I called, maneuvering my way around the boxes in front of the stairs. "Okay honey." She called from the kitchen. I headed up the stairs to my room, making my way down the hall, zig zagging around more large boxes until I reached the door to my room. I opened it, quickly moving inside- thankful for some kind of order other than the hectic mess I'd just encountered.

I shut the door, my room pleasantly cooler than the rest of the house. I sat down on my bed and stretched out with my legs lining the length of the bed. Scott's words played through my head on repeat. While more hunters was the last thing I wanted to deal with, I wasn't sure where else to go. It seemed like this was the only place where they hadn't tracked me down. Besides, there were other werewolves here, which means they'd be less likely to try and take us all on, knowing that I wouldn't be alone. If my clock was correct, it was nearly three in the morning. I'd spent most of the day unpacking and organizing, getting accustomed to my new room. I'd also taken time to visit the school's website and catch up on the work I had missed in the last week or so. It all seemed like repeat information to me, which is what pretty much guaranteed me an "A". I had finished it about an hour ago, and I was thankful that I had. Maybe now I could get some sleep. I decided I would wait till the morning to tell Louise about Scott and Allison and the "imminent danger" here in Beacon Hills. I'm sure the world could wait one more night to end. After shutting my bedroom light off, I fell into an all consuming sleep.

I woke up groggy, the light shining through my window. The room smelled of coffee, eggs, bacon, and French toast. It seemed like a lot for someone like Louise, who wasn't big on… well, big breakfasts. I stretched, swinging my legs over the side of my bed only to catch a whiff of something other than breakfast food. I spun around, my nails having automatically shifted into razor sharp claws. A tall man stood next to my window, which had obviously been his entrance point. I could tell, not only because of his demeanor, but because of his scent, that he was another werewolf. "Who the hell are you?" I growled at him. He looked at me for a long time, before answering. "I'm Derek. Derek Hale." He said, stepping forward. The bed stood between us, but he reached out his hand as a sign of a truce. After re-shifting my nails, I shook his hand hesitantly. "I remember you." I said, recognition falling over me. He seemed shocked. "I've been searching around on the internet. You're the one who's family died in the house fire." He looked down, his fists clenching even tighter. "I'm guessing the rest of the town doesn't know that the hunters were the ones responsible for it either." I said. He looked up at me. "How long have you been here." I sighed. "since yesterday morning."

"You know a lot for someone who's only been here for a day. How'd you know what the hunters did to my family?" He asked. I laughed humorlessly. "I've learned to read a hunter's markings. And that fire had hunter's markings all over it." I explained. I dared not give away too much information. While Derek was another werewolf, I didn't know him all that well. I had to take everything he said at face value. "You're observant. I could use someone like you in my pack." He explained, his eyes cold and calculating. So he was an alpha. I crossed my arms and looked at him with just as cold of an expression. "How do you know I'm staying in Beacon Hills?" I asked. He laughed. "Because I saw the moving boxes in your windows." He said matter-o-factly. I looked down for a moment, feeling somewhat idiotic for even asking. "Okay, whose to say I wanna _be _your pack?" I asked.

A smile played across his lips. "You knew there were hunters here. Which means you also knew there would be other werewolves. And you're still here. I don't take you for the kind of person to go running from a fight." He said, avoiding my question. Something about the fact that he knew me so well pissed me off. I barely knew this guy, and he was reading me like a book. "Why do you know so much about me?" I asked. He shrugged. "Maybe I'm just as observant as you are." He said. "Selene!" Louise called. "I'm up Louise!" I called back, turning to see Derek standing next to me. My nails shifted back into talons at his close proximity. I backed up, nearly into my bed side table. "Meet me after you get out of school at the edge of the woods." He said. I narrowed my eyes at him, going for an at least somewhat menacing approach. "Why should I?" I asked. "Because, I can tell you what it is you wanna know." He said. He reached forward, making me flinch in the process, but he simply toyed with a strand of my hair for a moment, before moving back toward the window. "Oh," He said, turning back to look at me with a smile. "Work on your glare. It'll work on humans. But I'm still having a bit of a tough time believing you." Then he was gone.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I quickly changed out of my pajamas into a pair of jean shorts and my favorite T shirt: It was designed to look like something with large talons had clawed holes into the fabric. I guess it was somewhat of an inside joke. The thought of telling Louise about last night wasn't comforting. It spelled trouble, on numerous levels. So I grabbed the papers from the assignments I had made up yesterday, shoving them in a folder, and quickly putting the folder in my backpack before slinging it over one shoulder and heading downstairs. I made my way around the dwindling number of boxes near the front entrance. "Bye Louise!" I called. "You're not gonna eat breakfast?" She asked from in the kitchen. "Not hungry. Um, I might be a little late coming home today, just to catch up on some of the assignments I might have missed." I lied, grabbing my keys and heading out the front door. I drove to school at nearly 30 miles an hour, getting there in under a minute.

I climbed out of my car, heading for the school's front entrance with the rest of the crowd. I got stares from a lot of the people around me, but I didn't care. I headed right for the front office. The secretary had never seen me before, but it seemed as if she lacked any interest in me either. Her hair was short and red, a contrast to her green eyes. Her mouth seemed set in a permanently painted on scowl. "High, I'm looking for Scott…" I trailed off, cursing myself for not asking for his last name. "Mcaul?" She asked, seeming perplexed. I nodded. "I'm new, and we met each other at a party last night. He let me borrow one of his texts books to catch up on some of the work I missed." I lied, something that was of second nature to me. She nodded, seeming somewhat skeptical of what I told her. "Locker 134, house C." She said in a bored manner. I nodded, heading toward what I hoped was the right area. Exactly two minutes later, I was standing ten feet away from Scott. I moved in behind him, silent enough to startle him when he turned around. "Damn it, what the hell!" He said angrily. "Derek Hale; he's a werewolf?" I asked, anger about what happened this morning welling in my chest. "How did you-" "He visited me in my house this morning. He told me to meet him at the edge of the woods after school." I said in a rush. "What? How did he know you were-" "Scott, we can smell it on each other as werewolves." I said, looking at him as if he were an idiot.

"He wants me to be apart of his pack." I said, watching as his eyes became labeled with worry. "You didn't say yes did you?" He asked, obviously on edge. "No! I don't know anything about him. Why would I?" I said. He nodded. "Good. Look, Derek is bad news, okay. Very bad news. Stay away from him." He said. "Like I was gonna waltz, completely blind, into this mess?" He sighed, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "What do you have first period?" He asked. I pulled my schedule out of my bag. "English." I said. "Then you're with me." He said. I followed him to what my best guess would've been the English room. As he took his seat in the back of the room, I noticed he was sitting with Allison. I walked up to the English teacher, waiting for him to get off the phone. After a moment, he hung up. "What can I do for you?" He asked. I pulled out the essay from the night before for English; it was about the political stereo types found in "Romeo and Juliet" and while it was due two days ago, I doubted the teacher would mind my extra effort. "Yes, I am the new student, Selene Watson. And I found the essay criteria on the school's website for the Romeo and Juliet paper. So I figured it be best if I did the essay to catch up on some of the work I missed." I said, handing him the five page essay. "I was also wondering if you by chance had an extra copy of the English text book?" I asked kindly. He looked up at me with what seemed like awe in his eyes. "Yes, of course." He said, grabbing a text book from the drawer of his desk. He handed it to me and shook my hand. "Thank you, Mr. Harris." I said, taking a seat near Scott and Allison.

The teacher turned to the chalk board and began writing some sort of assignment, while I turned to Scott and passed him a note reading: "You and Allison meet me at lunch. We'll talk then." I watched as he read the note, before he looked up at me and nodded. I turned back around in my seat to find a note on my desk. I opened it to read a note that said: "So you're the new werewolf in town?" I looked around the room to see a boy two seats over from me staring in my direction. I narrowed my eyes at him, as if to ask "You?" He nodded. I decided to respond, scribbling on the piece of paper. "How did you know?" I sent it back to him, and he quickly responded, tossing the note back to me. I opened it, reading what he had written. "I'm Scott's best friend, Stiles. And yeah, I know about the werewolves." I took a deep breath, a small amount of relief washing over me. It was better than the alternative: another hunter. I crumpled up the paper and stuffed it into my bag, only to find another note on my desk when I turned back around. I unfolded it and recognized the handwriting. It was Stiles again. "So what's your name?" He asked. I looked over at him. He urged me to respond before the teacher turned back around. "Selene." I wrote, tossing him back the note. He read it, scribbling on the paper again before tossing it back to me. "Cool. So look, just my warning to ya- when you're dealing with Derek, be careful. He basically spells out trouble for anyone who comes into contact with him." I thought for a moment about this. Then I wrote: "You're probably right. Look, wait until lunch and then we'll talk. I don't wanna get you in trouble with the teacher." I tossed the note back to him and he read it, nodding at me before attempting to shove the note into his bag. But it slipped from his grasp, landing by my foot. I picked it up, just as Mr. Harris turned around.

"What's this?" He asked us. The room went quite. "Oh, I was just helping Stiles here with one of his papers. It fell out of his bag." I lied, knowing I was the perfect picture of calm. I handed Stiles our note, nodding respectfully. "Oh. Okay then." Mr. Harris murmured suspiciously. Class continued then, as he drew our attention to the front board. "Now, can anyone tell me what these symbols are?" He asked, having drawn twenty or so symbols on the board. I raised my hand, recognizing them immediately. "Yes Ms. Watson?" He said. "They're said to be the scripture of the ancient Sumerian language. Scientists have been trying to decode them for years but the origins of the language have been untraceable." I explained. He nodded, smiling down at me. "Very good." He said. I nodded in return. "Thank you." I said simply. "Now, if I may ask, how did you know about the scripture?" He asked. "I've visited museums before that had copies of the scripture in their exhibits. The real scripture is obviously under lock and key somewhere." He nodded. "You could all use a lesson from your new peer-" "No, disrespect, Mr. Harris. Honestly, you are obviously an intelligent mind. But in today's society, everyone processes information differently. I have, a… habit of vocalizing what it is I have prior knowledge about. But not everyone is that forward. Many people are intrapersonal, and focus in on the information in their own minds, dissecting it on their own." He looked down at me. "You are right." He said after a moment. Then he quickly returned to the black board, continuing to right something else.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Stiles trying to get my attention. I looked over at him as he whispered "I think I love you." I rolled my eyes, pulling out a fresh notebook and copying down the notes and symbols on the board. After that, English went on without a hitch. After class, I headed out into the hall, Stiles quickly catching up to me. "Okay, you may be one of the coolest werewolves I know." He said with a laugh. "Except maybe Scott." I smiled. "Where are you going?" I asked. "Chemistry." He said. I nodded. "Well then I guess we'll be sharing two classes." I said. I looked up at me, eyebrows raised. "Lead the way." I said. He nodded, walking just slightly ahead of me. Behind us, I heard a bunch of jocks laughing and messing around; suddenly, one of them sent a football flying through the air; it spiraled by, heading straight for Stiles' head. "Stiles!" I yelled, quickly moving forward and pulling him around the corner of the hallway just in time for the football to miss the back of his head. The wind was partially knocked out of me as I landed with a thud with my back against the wall. Having yanked him around the corner, he stood with each hand on either of my sides against the wall, his face inches from mine. I sucked in a breath through my nose, hoping to regain myself. Instead, I was engulfed in his scent. Suddenly, I could hear his heart hammering in his chest, ringing in my ears. It made me dizzy due to his "too close" proximity. "Whoa." He murmured, blinking momentarily. I looked at him, waiting for him to back up. But it seemed I wasn't the only one working to get my bearings back in order. "Thanks." He said. I nodded slowly, my lips nearly touching his in the small gesture. "Could you back up a little? It's just… I can smell your blood." I said hesitantly. He stood up straight, adding just enough space between us to dilute the smell of his blood in the air. "Thanks." I said softly.

He nodded, and we continued on our way to chemistry class. "Thanks, for back there." He said once we were a ways down the hall. "If you hadn't pulled me out of the way I probably would have ended up with a brain aneurism." He said with a small laugh. I smiled. "Yeah, well, jocks like those can be serious asses." I said. It wasn't the first time I had dealt with people like them. I could easily see what kind of people they were. I saw him watching me out of the corner of my eye, and while his heartbeat had somewhat returned to normal, I could hear it begin to pick back up again. I couldn't help the small smirk that played involuntarily on my lips. "What?" He asked. I shook my head, looking down with a small laugh. "Let's just get to chemistry." I said. He seemed confused but remained silent as we headed down the hallway to our next class.

The day went by fast, leaving me with no homework, and almost nothing to do. Almost. I had decided that while it may or may not have been in my best interest to do so, I was going to meet with Derek. Scott, Allison, and even Stiles hadn't told me much information at lunch. Just that Derek had his own pack, consisting of Erica, Isaac, and Boyd, all of which I had met in my other classes and all of which they told me to be careful of. They hadn't seemed to notice the scent difference between me and the rest of the class though, which means that my identity remains unknown to them. In fact they hadn't even thrown me a second glance. The only other thing they had told me was that Allison's entire family were hunters, something I wasn't surprised by. But I got the sense Derek could tell me a lot more than what they had led me to believe was it.

I exited the school through the back doors, moving across the field toward the edge of the woods. As I neared the tree line, I saw him. Derek leaned lazily against a tree, watching me move toward him. Once we were in speaking distance, he called over to me. "You came." He said simply. I nodded. "So, what did Scott and his little crew tell you?" He asked, watching me with an expression that could only be described as intrigued. I made my way closer, until I was about five feet away from him. I made my movements slow and steady, still untrusting of him. He read me too easily when I knew so little about him. So I kept my expression blank, making sure he couldn't pull anything off of me. And it seemed to work, because he was watching me extra closely. "Not much. They told me Allison's family was a hunting party for our kind. They told me who was apart of your pack, all of which I met today." He seemed to stiffen at my mention of his other pack members. In my mind, I smiled, knowing I had struck a nerve. "Erica seems a little… sure of herself." I said, watching his expression return to unreadable stone. "Boyd, he seems, conflicted. The way he moves in his own body is too… harsh. Cold." I said. While his face seemed still on the surface, I could tell he was seething underneath. He didn't like the fact that I knew so much about him and his pack. "Isaac seems pretty relaxed. But he shouldn't be, should he?" I asked daringly. Derek wouldn't meet my eyes with his own, averting my gaze as much he could. "What don't I know?" I asked, taking a step closer.

Suddenly he was behind me, holding me against him by my hips. It vexed me that he felt so entitled to my personal space, but I couldn't let it show. I couldn't let him intimidate me. Not if I wanted him to tell me the truth. His lips were by my ear, and he talked very carefully to me. "What I tell you could very well get you killed. Are you sure you wanna know?" He asked. I tilted my head toward the sound of his voice, his lips never moving an inch away from my ear. "Yes." I said finally, knowing that while this was truly dangerous, it was probably better that I know now what I was getting into. There would be no backing out. His hands slid from my hips, up my arms, resting on my shoulders. Even in the cool air, his hands were warm on my bare skin. He pulled me against his chest, and I knew he was trying to intimidate me. "So," I said, my voice coming out much more breathy than I had intended. "Is that what you do? Use your sexuality to intimidate people?" I asked, adding a challenging note to my voice and hoping it gave me some sort of depth. I could feel the ruble in his chest from his laughter. "Yeah, something like that." He said; I could hear the smile in his voice. His lips brushed against the side of my neck, right where my pulse was. It made me nervous, and yet sent pleasant shivers down my spine all at once. "Hmmm." He purred, more to himself than to me I was sure.

He moved a piece of my wavy, vanilla colored hair to the side, before finally stepping back and reclaiming his earlier position against the tree in front of me. He leaned there casually, and while my legs threatened to give out on me, I stood my ground, letting the muscles in my body relax enough so that I didn't seem too rigid. "Have you ever heard, of a creature called a Kanima?" He asked. It sounded familiar, and I thought for a moment; then I remembered. "You mean the legend? Someone is bitten by an alpha, and they turn into a, scaly, life-sized reptile, searching for some sort of a leader- all the while equipped with a tale and claws and venom and whatnot?" I asked. I was a legend I had heard from _my_ alpha, when the rest of my pack was still alive. "It's not an urban legend." He said matter-o-factly. I narrowed my eyes at him in disbelief. But by the expression on his face, I knew he was one hundred percent serious. "You're kidding, right?" I asked. He looked up at me. "Sure you wanna stay in Beacon Hills?" He asked. I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Do you know who it is?" I asked. He shook his head. "That 's what we've been trying to find out." He explained. I nodded. "What happens when you find it?" I asked hesitantly. He looked up at me. "It depends on who it is." He said after a moment. "But once we find out who it is, we need to find it's leader." I nodded. "Do you have suspects?" I asked. "Actually, I have two: Lydia Martin, and Jackson Whittemore." He said. I had seen them both earlier in the day, remembering their faces from when the teacher took attendance. "The thing is, I wasn't the one who bit Lydia. That was anther alpha; my uncle, Peter Hale. But after I uh… after I killed him, I took his place as the alpha." "Wait, you killed your uncle?" I asked. He looked at me for a moment. "It was a lot more complicated than you might think." He said solemnly. I nodded skeptically.

"Okay, what about Jackson? Did you bite him?" I asked, crossing my arms. He nodded. "That's the thing though. If the bite doesn't turn you, it kills you. Scott told me that Lydia's been having these weird, hallucinations, and she ended up roaming the woods for two days straight, but she isn't dead, or a werewolf." He said, suddenly seeming to remember something important. "And Jackson?" I asked. He looked up at me. "That's the weird thing. He isn't a werewolf. But I found him in the bathroom about a week ago. He was bleeding out of his ears and his nose; but the blood, it was black." He said. I thought for a moment, weighing each situation against one another. "Okay, Lydia's situation makes more sense. I mean, it could just be post traumatic stress disorder. But it isn't…_ human_ for someone to… bleed black." His eyebrows came together in a scowl. "But there's no way to be sure." He muttered angrily. I stepped closer to him, watching as his eyes turned red. "Derek," I said. He looked up at me, and I gestured to his eyes. He took a deep breath, blinking a few times before his eyes returned back to normal.

"You're frustrated." I said quietly, noticing the sound of his heart beat getting louder- faster. I stared at his chest, as if on some level I would be able to see the movement of his heart inside him. "This thing is going around, killing people. It's a threat to everyone. And I have a feeling that whoever or whatever is controlling it is just as bad as the Kanima itself, if not worse." He said. I thought for a moment. "Who would be the last person in the world you'd think would be behind this?" I asked. He paused. "Gerard Argent; he's Allison's grandfather. He just recently joined the Argent's group here in Beacon Hills after Peter killed his daughter, Kate." I heard his pulse beat out of it's typical rhythm when he said her name. "Wait;" I said after a moment, realization dawning on me about why his heartbeat changed it's pattern. "You and Kate…" I said, my remark left open at the implication of Kate's and his relationship. For a moment he was silent, his expression turning serious. Suddenly, his arm wrapped around my waist pulling me toward him. "What-" He pulled me behind a tree and mimed for me to be quiet, pushing me against the bark of the tree; his face a mere inch or so away from mine, and his body pressed against my own. I tried to ignore the sudden smell of his cologne wrapping around me in spicy, enticing waves. We both glanced around the corner of the tree, and I noticed that a mere twenty feet away, stood two men in long black coats, both holding riffles. "Hunters." He whispered. 'How had I missed them?' I thought. 'Because you were too busy staring at Mr. Buff over here.' A condescending voice said in the back of my mind. I let out a small growl at my own stupidity. Damn me. Damn him. Damn those fricken hunters.

After a moment they left, and he backed up enough to give me breathing room. "Thanks." I murmured. He nodded. "See what I mean? These hunters are all over the place." He said. I sighed, running a hand through my hair in frustration. I tipped my head back against the tree, tired and sleep deprived. "So, how much do you know?" A voice said. I turned around to see Stiles moving toward us. I laughed. "Well as far as I know: everything now." I said. He glared past me at Derek. "Look, Scott wanted me to come find you. He had a… sneaking suspicion that you would be here." Stiles explained. I nodded. "Uh-huh…" I said. He rolled his eyes. "I'll be over here." He said, giving Derek one last glare before moving back toward the tree line. I turned back to Derek. I glanced around the tree at Stiles before turning back to look at Derek. Suddenly, he was less than an inch from me. He leaned down and whispered into my ear. "Be careful." He murmured. Before I had a chance to respond though, he pulled away, gave me one last look, and then took off into the woods. I stood silent for a moment. Slowly, I moved around to the other side of the tree, coming up beside Stiles. There was a slight look of confusion on his face. "What was that about?" He asked "I don't know." I murmured. With a sigh, he started forward, and I tagged along behind him. "Where are we going?" I asked after a long moment of silence. "Scott's waiting at the front entrance of the school." He said flatly.

We reached the school's front doors, and we found Scott standing there, looking nervously around. "Found her." Stiles said, bringing Scott's attention to us. "What's up?" I asked, trying to forget the awkward moment with Derek back at the tree line. "What were you doing with Derek?" He asked. "Talking. We were just talking" I said defensively. "Why did you call me out here?" I asked, wondering what it was that was so important. "To get you away from him. Look you just got here, and getting involved with Derek in any way is a bad idea." I laughed humorlessly. "Right, because you guys have shown such an enormous amount of honesty with me." I said sarcastically.

"And yes, I know what the Kanima is. If you had just told me, maybe I'd have been able to help you." I said. "Wait, you know what the Kanima is?" Stiles asked. I crossed my arms in deference. "Yes, I know what it is." I said. "I also know that it's either Lydia, or Jackson." I said. "Jesus, you know more about what's going on here than Lydia's figured out in a month." Stiles muttered. I rolled my eyes. "Look, I have things to do, so if you don't mind?" I said, adjusting the strap of my bag and heading in the opposite direction. "Selene!" Scott called. I turned and looked back at him. "Stay away from Derek." He said. After a moment, I turned and walked back toward the parking lot. I got in my car, setting my bag in the passenger's seat. I took a breath, trying to get my very confused bearings in order. I leaned back against the seat for a moment, before starting the car and heading home.

I backed into the driveway, careful of the trees shading my house. Getting out of my car, I grabbed my bag, pulled out my keys and let myself into the house. The boxes that had once littered the house had been cleared, leaving a decent looking home before me. I could smell Louise's homemade Chinese noodles coming from the kitchen. The soft melodies of classical music drifted out as well. "Louise?" I called, setting my bag on the couch in the living room and returning my keys to my back pocket. I walked into the kitchen to see that not only clean, but was it fully operational, as Louise moved around the kitchen at lightning speed, picking up ingredients from all over the place and adding them to the pan. I sat down at the granite kitchen island, watching her move around, vigorously mixing in the soy sauce and whatever else it was she used in the concoction. "Hey pup." She said. "Pup" was her nickname for me; it was kind of an inside joke. "Hope you're hungry." She said, turning off the stove and putting the noodles into one large bowl before putting it on the island counter in front of me. "I see you spent the day cleaning." I said, glancing around the unfamiliar kitchen. She shrugged. "I don't have to go to work until tomorrow, so I figured it would be a good time to get most of the unpacking done." She said, pulling two bowls from the kitchen cabinet. Smiling, she handed me my bowl, and while my appetite wasn't too present, I decided to take some of the noodles out of common courtesy. Besides, she had decent cooking skills. Dinner was quiet for the most part though, and I did the dishes when we were both finished.

After thinking about it for a while, I decided not to tell Louise about what happened today. I didn't want to drag her into this if I didn't have too. She'd been put through quite a bit because of me, and if there was some way to protect her from this mayhem, then that was exactly what I was gonna do. I headed upstairs, walking into my room and shutting the door. With a sigh, I glanced at my radio alarm to see that it was nine o'clock. But my body was telling me my only option was sleep. I changed into a tank top and a pair of cotton pajama bottoms, lighting one of my favorite candles and laying on my bed. But my mind began to race with all of the information that I had found out today. To think something as outrageous as the Kanima even existed was insane. It was like a bad horror movie… gone wrong. It made me wonder just what else existed. But after a while, sleep won out over my thoughts about the truth behind Beacon Hills.

I woke up coming out of some sort of dream I couldn't remember. I sat up slowly, noticing a smell in my room other than my French vanilla candle. My senses kicked into overdrive as I suspected the possible threat of an intruder. I immediately stood, surveying the room and noticing the familiar build of a dark figure sitting in my desk chair. I glanced over at my clock; five minutes after twelve. I looked back over at Derek. "You shouldn't sleep with a burning candle." He muttered. I sighed, sitting back down. "Damn it." I said. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I asked. He chuckled quietly to himself. "Why are you here?" I asked annoyed. "Because, you still didn't give me an answer." He said. The grogginess clouding my thoughts made me question what it was it was he was referring too. "I'm sorry you're gonna have to be a bit more specific." I said, crossing my legs underneath me. "I want you in my pack." He said simply. For a moment I was quiet. "You know, a lot of people have been telling me to stay away from you. They say you're bad news." I muttered, standing and crossing my arms. He glanced down for a moment before looking back up at me. "And how many of those people have told you the entire truth about Beacon Hills?" He asked. I narrowed my eyes at him, knowing that the point he made was valid.

"I don't know, anything, about you." I said. "I've been here, two days." "You're less likely to get _killed _if you're in my pack." He said. Suddenly he was less than an inch in front of me. "I've seen what happens to lone wolves. The hunters will slaughter you without a second glance!" He said angrily. I looked up into his red eyes, noticing not only my heartbeat rising but his as well. "Why do you care so much? You don't even know me." I murmured. His brow furrowed together. "You think I wanna see you die because of the hunters?" He asked.

I blinked for a moment, not sure how to process the information. After a moment, his eyes returned to a much more humanly hazel color. His hand caressed the side of my face, moving a piece of my hair away from my eye. "I never said that. I just don't know why you care so much." I murmured. Suddenly it was like there wasn't enough room in my skull for my brain. I was pleasantly dizzy, noticing that while he seemed to lack the typical smell of cologne, the scent radiating off his skin was so much better. My eyelids threatened to fall shut, and my lips threatened to close in on his. They were less than a mere inch away; it would be so easy. But the though of not knowing him, not knowing what I could be getting into… it was dark and dangerous and threatening in ways the general populace had no clue of. "It's simple; you and I, come from the same kind of place. We both know the truth. We've both lived the same kind of life- the kind of life spent running from monsters much worse than us.

I watched his eyes for some kind of lie. Some kind of false advertisement I didn't find. His words were honest. True. I knew he meant what he said. He stepped closer, caressing the side of my neck. I could feel my pulse jump at his touch. Something in my chest became tight; constricted. It was hard to breathe with him so close to me. I was silent. "So what's it gonna be?" He asked. Slowly, his lips moved down to my neck, leaving a trail of gentle kisses along my skin. He coaxed the answer from me with his mouth, leaving a trail down to my shoulder and back up again. "Yes." I breathed after a pulse pounding moment. And while I knew that what I was getting into was both life threatening and dangerous, I had no other options. I knew what I knew, and there was no going back.


	2. A Bloody night

Suddenly though, another sound caught my attention, as I realized that Louise had burst through the room. I jumped away from Derek, turning to see that she had brought her gun, aiming and taking fire. "No!" I shouted, but not before the gun had gone off. I watched as Derek yelled in pain, the shot having buried itself in his chest. He fell to the floor, unconscious, but not dead. "Derek!" I said, kneeling beside him. A small pool of blood had seeped around the wound and soaked into his chest. But I could tell that his flesh had begun to heal around the bullet. "I need to get the bullet out." I said, looking up at Louise. "What the hell is going on?" She asked. "Louise, do me a favor, and don't ask any questions; at least not yet. Get the first aid kit: I need a knife, rubbing alcohol, and tweezers." I told her. She seemed reluctant to do much else except stand and watch him with wide eyes. "Now!" I yelled. She flinched, moving quickly out of the room, to get the supplies I asked of her.

I lengthened my nails as they formed razor sharp talons, tearing his shirt off of him. The wound had already begun the surface healing, and I could tell he would come too at any moment. I dragged him onto the bed, lying him along the length of it. Louise came back then, holding the first aid kit along with the rubbing alcohol. She set them on the bed next to him, stepping back and watching for a moment with wide, round, and obviously confused eyes. I opened the first aid kit and pulled out the small knife we kept in it along with a piece of gauze. I uncapped the rubbing alcohol, cleaning the knife, and the area around the wound. I watched his face, noticing his eyes beginning to flutter. "Damn it." I muttered. If he woke up now, this would be a lot more painful than if he were asleep. "Derek," I said, talking to him though he seemed only vaguely aware of the situation. "Listen; you got shot. And your body healed around the bullet. So I need to take it out now, okay?" I asked. His eyes lulled in his head before his eyelids fell shut. He was incognizant, and obviously hadn't understood what I said. After a moment, I took the knife and made a small incision where the bullet wound had begun to close. He sucked in a sharp breath, his eyebrows furrowing together.

Blood seeped over his chest from the wound. I quickly picked up the tweezers and pushed them between the open flesh in his chest. He let out a growl of pain as I began searching around for the bullet. His nails became talons as he gripped the bed sheets, clenching his jaw. After a moment, I found the bullet, pulling it out and wrapping it in a small piece of gauze. "Done." I said, my hands covered in his blood, along with his chest. I watched as the bleeding ceased and the wound closed up. After a moment, his talons returned to normal, his grip loosening on the comforter. He'd left rips in the fabric from his claws. I looked up at his face to see he had passed out again. I sighed, relieved he was okay. I cleaned the blood from his chest with the rubbing alcohol, Collecting the bullet and the bloody tools, leaving the room for a moment. I heard Louise follow me into my bathroom as I dumped everything into the sink. "Okay, who the hell is he?" She asked angrily. I sighed, having wanted to avoid this. "He's another werewolf." I said, throwing away the dirty gauze and turning on the sink. "A werewolf?" She asked. I nodded. "He's an alpha. And before you ask, yes, there are other werewolves, and other hunters here." I said. I looked at her in the mirror to see her eyebrows rise. "And you just forget to mention all this to me?" She asked.

Sighing, I washed my hands, drying them on the towel before turning to face her. "Louise, you've sacrificed everything to protect me. I wanted to protect you. If you didn't know anything, you were less likely to get involved." I said. Her jaw clenched in anger, and her eyes narrowed. "How am I supposed to help you if you don't tell me the truth!" She yelled. I sighed. "Oh, and would you care to explain what exactly it was that I walked in on back there?" She asked, her eyes burning angrily. "Look, that's the least of our problems, okay?" I said. She seemed confused when I said this. "What d you mean?" She asked worried. I sighed, not wanting to drag poor Louise into this. But I didn't see any other choice. "Look, remember those old stories I told you about when we were little? About those creatures and stuff?" I asked, trying to ease her into this She nodded silently. "Well, remember that one I told you about, called the Kanima?" I asked. She nodded. "You mean that lizard thing?" She asked. I nodded. "Well, it's not just a legend." I said after a moment. I stared at me as if I had ten heads. "Your kidding, right?" She asked with a slight smile, suspecting some kind of lie. I remained silent, watching the smile die out of her. "Oh, c'mon, Selene. You can't be serious." She said, crossing her arms in deference. I stood silently. "Okay, how do you know this thing even exists?" She asked. I glanced back toward the bedroom for a moment. "Derek told me." I said after a moment, turning back to see a look of skepticism in her eyes. "Right, because we know he's such a trustworthy source-" "He saved my ass, okay?" I asked. She was silent for a moment. "It was hunters. They were by the school." I explained. She didn't say anything for a moment. "Besides, I would have been able to tell if he were lying. Werewolf or not, your pulse has a tendency to tell the truth- even if you aren't." I said. She glanced at him through the doorway. I looked to see that he was still unconscious, though he looked more like he was simply asleep. His breathing was level, and I noticed his eyes moving under their lids.

I dried the knife on the towel, pulling a facial cloth out of the cupboard and rinsing it in cool water. "Look, just… wait till I'm done making sure he's okay? Then we can talk." I said. I carried the knife and the cloth into my room, setting the knife on my work desk. I sat on the edge of the bed and cleaned some of the excess blood from the now healed wound, unable to help but notice his chiseled chest and abdomen. After I'd cleaned away the excess blood, I gently blotted the cool cloth on his warm forehead. His eyes opened for a moment, searching the room before they found me. He blinked for a moment. "What the hell happened?" He asked. I sighed. "It's a long story." I muttered, setting the cloth on my desk. He sat up for a moment, scratching his head and looking down at himself. "I got shot.." He said after a moment. I nodded. "Like I said- It's a long story." I muttered, setting the cloth on my desk. He sat up for a moment, scratching his head and looking down at himself. "I got shot.." He said after a moment. I nodded. "Like I said- It's a long story." He nodded after a moment. "I'll be right back." I said, getting up and heading downstairs, as Louise followed me into the kitchen. I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with cold water, before turning to look at her. "Okay, so this Kanima, thing? It's real? And it lives here, in Beacon Hills?" She asked. I nodded. She sighed, shaking her head for a moment. "Then we need to go. We need to get the hell outta dodge." She said.

I shook my head. "No. I can't leave him and his pack alone with a couple of other werewolves to try and fight this thing. Not to mention the hunters." I said. She glared at me as if I were insane. "Selene, I don't know what you've been smoking, but it's obviously gotten to your head. We need to get the hell outta Beacon Hills, tonight." She said. I stood and looked at her. "Fine. Go. I'm not leaving." I said. It was the first time either of us had considered splitting up. But she laughed. "There's no way in hell I'm leaving you here on your own." She said. I was quiet for a moment. "I'm not alone." I said. She stayed silent. Then, it were as if the light had dawned on her. "No. Selene don't tell me your in his pack." She said. I was silent. "Damn it!" She said angrily. "What the hell Selene?" She asked furiously. "Look, I'm not going to be some beta. That's not how this is going to work." I said. "Oh, is that so?" She asked. "Yes, it is. You know me- I've never been the type to take orders from anyone. And I doubt Derek expects me too either." I said. She sighed. "Fine. If you're staying, then so am I." She said. I nodded, taking the glass of water and heading back to my room. As I entered my room, I saw Derek sitting on the edge of my bed. He looked up as I entered the room. "Hey." I said, sting next to him and handing him the glass of water. He took a sip before setting it on the desk. "Thank you." He said after a moment. I nodded.


	3. Second In Command

"Well, were in a pack now aren't we?" I said. He looked up at me, and nodded. "Listen, though; I'm not gonna be a beta. I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not exactly the best at taking orders." I said. "I know. I can tell." He said with a smirk. "Besides- I didn't turn you, so being in my pack doesn't necessarily mean you have to be a beta." He explained. I nodded after a moment of thought. "So then wait, what does that make me?" I asked. He looked up at me. "Second in command." I narrowed my eyes. "In werewolf packs, I've only ever heard of Alphas, Betas, and Omegas." I said. He nodded. "Well in rare instances like this, there have been cases where a second in command is initiated into the pack." He explained. I nodded silently. I sighed, flopping back onto my bed. "You're tired. Get some sleep." He said, moving over toward the window on the opposite side of the bed. Before he had a chance to leave, I grabbed his arm and pulled him down so he sat on the bed. I sat up, moving close to him. "Second in command, right?" I asked, my face inches away from his. His eyes narrowed, and he nodded. "Okay," I said, letting go of his arm as he stood up, and exited through the window. With a sigh, I pulled the comforter from the bed, tossing it on the floor. I curled up against my pillow, and drifted to sleep.

I awoke to the sun pouring in through my window, along with a muscular werewolf towering over me. I blinked a few times, before sitting up and looking around the room. A comforter had been thrown over me, and the bloody one with claw marks in it from last night was gone. I noticed that my entire room smelled like him, the scent closing in on me in darkly inviting waves and tendrils. He sat down on the edge of my bed, dressed in a pair of black jeans and a white tank top. I sighed, inhaling his sharp, heady scent from where he sat. "Your up." He said, analyzing me for a moment. I nodded, running a hand through my tousled hair. I didn't hear Louise anywhere in the house. "Where's Louise?" I asked. "She went out to the grocery store. I uh, had a talk with her this morning." Suddenly my stomach was twisted in knots. "What'd you say?" I asked suspiciously. "Just that you would be safe with my pack." He said. I nodded, some- what relieved. I pulled back the covers, getting out of bed and heading over to my dresser. I pulled out a pair of jeans and a black short sleeved shirt. "Meet me on the edge of the woods during lunch. I'll be with the rest of the pack." He said. "So, they know about me?" I asked. He sighed. "Yeah. They know." He muttered. I glanced behind me to see that he was turned around, before getting changed.

I pulled off my shorts and shimmied into my jeans. "So, how'd they take it when you told them?" I asked, pulling off my tank top and pulling on my t shirt. I turned and saw he had already turned around. Whether or not he'd seen me get changed I wasn't sure. But the look in his eyes told me he'd seen _something_. "What?" I asked. He blinked and shook his head, returning back to the previous subject. "They weren't thrilled." He said after a moment. "I'd expected as much." I replied. I picked up the brush from my desk and ran it through my hair, pulling it into a side pony tail with the hair tie I kept on my wrist. I sighed and sat down on my bed next to him. "What happens then?" I asked. He smiled a fanged smile at me. "Then, you prove your ranking." He said.

From the moment school started, all I could think about was lunch. Derek hadn't been specific about what he meant by "prove your ranking". He just said to be ready. Which was more than unnerving. Four boring, uneventful classes, and the bell rang for lunch. As I exited chemistry, I hurried down the corridor to the cafeteria. Though it was already packed, no one noticed as I slipped out the side door. I made my way to the edge of the woods, to find it empty accept for the grass, and the trees. At that moment, reality dawned on my mind: this was an ambush. I dropped my bag and settled into a crouching position, as a low growl became apparent off to my left. I spun around and found Erica before me, attempting some sort of mid air tackle. I dodged her advance, moving to the side and striking her on the temple. She lay on the ground unconscious as I turned to see Boyd standing before me. "She always was predictable." He muttered, taking a much more strategic approach on the situation. He moved forward, swiping his clawed hand in my direction. I blocked it, moving off to the side and bending his arm in it's opposite direction; hearing and feeling the bone snap. He yelled in pain, as I swept his feet from behind, tripping him onto his backside.

I paused and listened, waiting for Isaac's attack. Suddenly he was behind me, grabbing me in a bear hug. I head butted him, stepping off to the side and side kicking him in the shin. I heard the bone snap, followed by his agonized cry of pain as he fell to the ground. I backed up toward the edge of the woods, wondering where Derek was. Suddenly I heard a growl from above, looking up as I realized that he'd used the trees as his cover. He jumped down, toppling onto me and knocking me to the ground. We rolled through the grass for a moment, until we came to a stop with him straddling me. A smile ran along the length of his lips- he obviously thought this was over. I brought my right leg up, pushing him off of me long enough for me to switch our positions. The nails of my right hand became claws, as I held them against the hollow of his throat, breathing hard. "Well executed." He said after a moment. I retracted my talons, standing and watching as he got to his feet. I looked to see Erica just coming too, while Isaac and Boyd began correcting their injuries, getting to their feet.

"Selene, this is the pack." Derek said. I nodded, watching as Erica got to her feet. "I don't think we've been fully introduced." Isaac said, stepping forward and holding out his hand. "Isaac Lehey." He said, as I put my hand in his. He brought it to his lips for a moment, looking up at me before letting them move further up my arm. I grabbed his arm and bent it back- not enough to break it but enough to get his attention. "I'm not a big fan of being touched." I muttered, releasing his arm. Boyd came forward as Isaac stepped back, rubbing his wrist with his uninjured hand. "Sorry bout your leg." I said, shaking his hand. He shrugged. "Nothing Derek hasn't subjugated us too before." He said, stepping back. Erica watched me for a moment, before stepping forward and shaking my hand. The look in her eyes was strangely animal. More-so than Boyd or Isaac. "So, why'd you want the bite?" I asked. Her eyes never left mine as she responded. "I guess you could say that suffering from epileptic seizures all the time can make you gain a new perspective on things." She said. So that's what it was. The bite was her way out. Her way out of being an outcast. I nodded. "I think we'll get along just great." I said honestly.

She stepped back, and I looked at them while Derek spoke. "Selene is our newest member, and second in command." He said. Erica's head tilted to the side, as if she were slightly confused. "I thought there were only Alphas, Betas, and Omegas." She said. "Generally, most packs are like that. But there are rare instances where the Alpha has a second in command." He explained. "So, what she's like the… Alpha female?" Isaac asked. I glanced at Derek as one of his eyebrows raised. "Something like that." He said darkly. I knew a little bit about wolf hierarchy. And generally, the two alphas were mates. I wasn't exactly sure if the same rules applied to werewolves, but the words "mate" and "female" in the same sentence, made my stomach flip flop. Especially when I was around Derek. "So in other words, she's above us?" Erica said bitterly, crossing her arms in defiance. "Yes. Do you have a problem with that?" He asked sternly. She glared at him for a moment. "Not at all." She said with a shake of her head. Damn; I hadn't been apart of the pack two minutes and I was already causing controversy. I glanced at the clock on my phone, noticing there were five minutes left of lunch. "Well, I'm gonna be late for class." Isaac said, heading toward the building. Erica followed silently behind. "See ya." Boyd said, before turning on his heel and catching up to the rest of them. I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Well, that went well." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "I thought they already knew about the ranking." I said, looking at Derek as he leaned against a tree. "They knew you were coming into the pack- not about the ranking though." He said.

I nodded, glancing down for a moment. I exhaled a deep breath through my mouth, blinking a few times to get myself together. "Now what?" I though out loud. I looked up at Derek, the expression on his face telling me he was thinking the same thing. "How about this," I said, an idea springing to mind. "Erica and I will watch Jackson, and Isaac and Boyd will watch Lydia. See which one of them has the most… I don't know, _off _behavior." I said. He nodded. "Um, just… be careful around Erica, okay?" He asked, stepping closer until he stood directly in front of me. I raised an eyebrow. "Believe me, I think I'll be okay." I said. He nodded, but he had yet to move. "I'd better… get to class." I murmured, trying to ignore the way his closeness to me made my heart race, and by blood boil. He nodded, gently brushing a hand against my neck before heading back into the forest.

Chills still running down my spine, I grabbed my bag and sprinted to algebra. I walked in just as the teacher did, quickly picking a seat next to Erica. I quietly pulled a piece of paper from my notebook, and scribbling a message to her. "Derek wants us to watch Jackson. He wants Boyd and Isaac to watch Lydia." I passed it to her, and she took it without hesitation. She unfolded it, read the few lines on the page, and looked up at me with a nod. Her eyes had softened since earlier out by the woods. What caused her suddenly mood swing, I wasn't sure. But I was grateful for it. As the teacher silently turned to the board, I noticed Stiles walking into class late. He sat in front of me at his usual seat, glancing back at Erica and I. I watched as he wrote a note, and quickly passed it back to me. I unfolded it quickly before the teacher turned around, scanning the words he'd written down. "Whatever it is you and the other wolves are planning, don't do anything stupid. Like get anyone killed. Or kill anyone outright. And Scott told me about you joining Derek's pack. WTH?" I rolled my eyes, quickly replying to his little message: "Look, the hunters in this town obviously have no problem killing lone wolves. Joining his pack gives me a fighting chance. Not only that, but like you said, I already know more in two days than Lydia does. Which makes me involved- too involved to back out. I'm in this fight." I said. And every word was absolutely true whether he liked it or not. I passed the note to him and watched as he read it. After a moment, he crumpled the note, and shoved it into his pocket. I smiled to myself, knowing that he understood the truth in my words. I glanced over at Erica, who had been watching our little conversation. She was smiling. I turned back to the board, as the teacher began to speak.


	4. Wolfs bane bullets

The day was uneventful- especially when watching Jackson go through the ropes of his day on a generally normal accord. When I got home, Louise was gone once again. She'd left a note on the door saying she'd be working late tonight at the hospital on account of a burn victim who needed to be watched 24/7. I walked inside, flipping on the light. With a tired sigh, I tossed my bag into the corner of the room and headed for the kitchen, making my way through the living room. As I flipped on the light switch to the kitchen, my heart nearly jumped into my throat- Derek, sat the kitchen island, looking up when I entered the room. "What the hell!" I yelled, falling back against the wall as my heart pounded in my ears. "Jesus." I muttered. He said simply. I sighed. "Have you ever though about, I don't know, _not _sneaking up on me?" I asked, moving over to the stove and putting on a pot of water. "Sorry." He said simply. I glanced back at him. "Coffee?" I asked, getting a mug from the cabinet. "Sure." He said. I pulled out a second mug and set it out on the counter, pulling out the coffee grinds and the creamer and setting them next to the mugs.

I sat down next to him at the island. "Okay, you're obviously here for a reason." I said, looking at him as he stared at the counter top. "Something's going on with Lydia." He said. "What do you mean?" I asked, watching the serious expression on his face. "I mean, her delusions- their getting worse each day. It's like some kind of progressive mental illness." He said. I bit my lip as I thought about what he said. "What if… what if the infection from the bite is still in her system. Still in her body." I suggested. He looked up at me when I said this. "It would make sense. I mean, it makes more sense than post traumatic stress syndrome, if these hallucinations she's having are getting worse." He said. I nodded. "What if her body's trying to … fight off the infection, and it's starting to loose." I said, realizing that it could mean certain death for Lydia if we didn't help her. He sighed, obviously at just as much of a loss as I was about what to do for her. "Great- how the hell do we save her?" He muttered. I got up from the counter as the whistle on the kettle began to blow. I turned of the stove and made the coffee, putting a small amount of creamer in mine. "How do you want it?" I asked. "Black." He said matter-of- factly. I handed him his mug, sitting back down next to him. "I had an encounter with the Kanima a few weeks ago. Stiles and I ended up trapped in the pool. But the Kanima… it couldn't swim." He said.

I thought for a moment. "So, whoever is controlling this thing, can't swim." I said. He nodded. "Okay. Unfortunately, that doesn't help us in figuring out _who _this thing really is." I said. "I know." He said, looking into the depths of his mug. "How about this- the full moon is in two days. Erica and I will watch Jackson, and Boyd and Isaac will watch Lydia." I offered. "I mean, it shouldn't be too hard to sneak into their houses." I said with a shrug. "No. No it's way to dangerous for any of you to be that close to this thing when it shifts." He said. "That's why we'll go in two's. We have a better chance at this in pairs." I said. He was quiet. "No. You'll get yourselves killed." He said. "No, we won't. Derek, what other options do we have?" I asked. His jaw clenched, and his eyes became threatening. After a moment, he nodded. "Tell the others tomorrow." He said. I nodded once, taking a sip of my coffee. I watched him silently for a moment. "Hey, we'll be okay." I said, touching his shoulder. He looked up at me from under his eyelashes, and I felt myself falling into the depths of his black eyes. It was like they went on forever, never seeking an end. Suddenly I knew- no matter what happened, or what kind of hell we'd all been placed in- I was safe with him.

He watched me carefully, his eyes intrigued. I involuntarily moved closer to him, letting the hand I'd let touch his shoulder wind into his hair. I breathed in his scent, closing my eyes. Before they had a chance to reopen, I heard the sound of someone screaming. That someone sounded like Erica. "Erica?" I said, my eyes snapping open. In half a second I was out of my chair and at the door, yanking it open to see a blood soaked Erica standing fifty yards away, an arrow sticking out of her shoulder. It had started raining, and the cold immediately radiated into my bones. As she fell to the ground, I noticed more blood seeping out from her abdomen. I sprinted over to where she lay on the ground, Derek not far behind. I turned her in my arms so I could look at her. Her face was pale, and her eyes were closed. "She's unconscious." I said, looking up at Derek, who kneeled beside me. Give her to me." He said, holding out his arms. I lifted her into his arms, careful of the arrow as we hurried into the house. He set her down on the couch, as I sat on the edge next to her. I pulled up the bottom half of her shirt to see that the blood was coming from a bullet wound in her stomach. The area around the wound had started to turn a bluish- purple. "Wolfs bane." I said. I looked up at Derek. "It's a wolfs bane bullet." I tapped the side of her face, trying to wake her up. "Erica, what happened?" I said, watching as her eyes opened a fraction of an inch.

"I was… following your scent…" Her breathing was raged, and her words were slurred as she struggled to stay awake. "Argents…" She seemed to have slipped back into unconsciousness. I held her upper body for a moment. "I need you to hold her up while I take out the arrow." I said. He moved to where I sat, taking my previous position. I stood over her, and took a hold of the front of the arrow. I broke off the tip, getting ready for the screaming as I took hold of the it from the back. "I'm sorry about this." I said, even though I doubted she heard me. I slowly pulled the arrow out, trying not to cause her too much pain. Her eyes snapped open, and she let out an ear splitting scream of agony. Derek held her tightly by the arms to keep her still enough for me to finish taking out the arrow. My hands were covered in her blood as I tossed the arrow on the floor. The wound in her shoulder had already begun healing. But the wolfs bane bullet was slightly more complicated. We were gonna need another of the same type of bullet in order to fix it. The wound's current infection would continue to grow otherwise, eventually killing her. But at least now that the arrow was out, she was awake.

"Thank you." She said, her voice weak. "What happened?" I asked, standing over her where she laid. "I caught wind of your scent and I was following it through the woods when a whole bunch of hunters from the Argent's group showed up. They saw me and started shooting at me. I was too fast though- I lost them in the woods. I drew them back to toward the school quickly enough to confuse their trail on me before I picked up your scent again." She explained. I sighed, wiping my blood stained hands on my jeans. "They shot me with a wolfs bane bullet though." She said. I nodded. "I know." I said. After a pause for a moment of thought I headed into the first floor bathroom, grabbing the first aid kit before heading back into the living room. I pulled out a pair of tweezers, some medical tape, and a few large squares of gauze. I lifted her shirt to see more blood pouring from the wound. "Okay- I have to get the bullet out." I told her, looking up at her troubled eyes. She nodded, gripping the side of the couch with an iron grip. I nodded, taking the tweezers and searching in the wound for the bullet. She whimpered slightly, as I dug around in her flesh, until I pulled out the bullet. I dropped it on the floor as I took the large pieces of gauze and taped them down over the wound. "It won't do anything to heal the wound itself, but it might help slow down the bleeding." I said, pulling he shirt back down over the gauze.

I watched as she slowly slipped into sleep again. Anger began burning through my veins though. The Argents were obviously aware of what was occurring with the Kanima, and still they felt that _we_ were the ones who needed to be extricated, when there was something far worse they could be occupied with. I turned and glanced at Derek, before heading into the kitchen. I grabbed one of the steak knives, hiding it in my boot before walking out the front door. I was going to get that bullet- straight from the source.  
By the time I'd gotten the bullet, they would know what hit them. The rain was pouring down hard on my head and shoulders not, as I trekked toward the woods. "Selene!" Derek called. I turned to see him sprinting toward me. "What are you doing?" He asked. "I'm going to get the duplicate bullet. It's the only way we can keep her from dying." "Are you insane!" He yelled. "If you think your gonna just walk right into their house and take one of their bullets, you really are crazy." He said. "Oh, I don't plan on walking in the front door. Breaking in through the back… yes." I said. "Look, let me go with you. I can distract them long enough for you to get in, get the bullet, and get out." I shook my head. "Someone needs to stay and watch her." I said, glancing back at the house. "Then I'll call Isaac and have him watch her. You can't go in there alone." He said. I sighed. "Fine. Tell Isaac to get his ass over here ASAP." I said. He nodded. "We might as well wait in the house." He said. After a moment of consideration, I followed him back toward the house.


	5. Triskellion Warfare

After Isaac showed up, Derek and I headed out into the forest. "So how exactly had you planned to get to Allison's house anyway? You don't know where she lives." He asked, as we trekked through the woods on foot. "Simple- I would have tracked Erica's scent back to the hunters, and then traced them back to Allison's house." I explained. I glanced over at him as he nodded. We came up on a side road, lined with houses. "C'mon." He said, as he led me to what must have been Allison's house. It was connected to a small metal garage. As we moved silently around back, I noticed a window on the side. "I can get in through the window." I whispered. He nodded. "Look, I'll draw them out of the house and lead them away from you. Meet me back at the house." He said. I bit my bottom lip in reluctance. "Derek, I don't think that's a good idea. There are a lot of hunters here." I said. "And truth be told, getting yourself killed isn't apart of the plan." "Do you have a better one?" He asked. I glared at him, knowing that while the answer was no, this plan didn't seem too bright either. "Fine." I said. He turned to leave but I grabbed his arm. "Just… stay alive." I said, looking into his eyes for a moment. He nodded, as I let go of his arm. He moved around to the front of the house as I began working on opening the window. Luckily for me, it had been carelessly left unlocked. I opened the window and climbed in. This however, was not just a garage. It was an arsenal. Compound bows and arrows. Guns. Tasers. Any weapon a hunter would need, was in these people's garage. "Jesus." I muttered as I began searching around for what I assumed would be wolfs bane bullets. I noticed that inside a sectioned off part of the garage, a wooden box sat on a table. It was engraved with the triskelion symbol used to represent a pack- alpha, beta, omega. A metal frame piece stood in my way of the wooden box I was positive contained the bullets. I lengthened my nails into claws, easily breaking through the lock on the metal piece.

I opened the door and walked in, opening the box to see that in fact, It was full of wolfs bane bullets. I grabbed the box, and quickly made my exit through the garage window, heading back toward the woods. I ran past trees and roots and bushes, easily tracing my own scent back to our previous location. As I came up on the clearing, I saw the house standing in the distance. As I reached it, I heard the sound of Isaac and Erica talking inside. I walked in, and found both Isaac and Erica sitting on the couch. But Derek was no where to be found. "Where's Derek?" I asked, wringing out my soaking wet hair. "Last I checked he was with you." Isaac said. "I know. But we agreed to meet back here." I explained. "Well he's not here." Isaac said. I handed him the box of bullets. "You have to break one of these open, and pour it into the wound." I said, glancing over at Erica who's face was pale and her eyes were red. "It's gonna hurt. A lot." I said, before turning back to the door. "Were are you going?" Isaac called. "To find him." I said, running out the door.

In the woods I had found his scent. It seemed as if he'd been heading toward the house. The problem was his absence thereof. As I walked around a bend, I saw a head of dark hair, and then the rest of him. He sat, slumped against a tree. "Derek!" I yelled, noticing the arrow sticking out of his arm. I ran over to him, falling to my knees by his side. I looked at his arm, taking hold of the front of the arrow and breaking it off. I grabbed the back of it and pulled it out. His eyes snapped open, and he yelled a choked scream of pain, before silently grinding his teeth together. "These god damn hunters." I muttered, as I finished pulling out the arrow. "C'mon." I said, helping him to his feet as we headed back in the direction of the house. "What the hell happened back there?" I asked. I looked up at him to see that he struggled to keep his eyes open. I pulled his good arm around my shoulders, helping him to stay upright. "Let's just say their long distance weapons are pretty long distance." He muttered.

After we returned to the house, I noticed that Erica was looking like her old self once more. "What the hell happened?" Isaac said, as I brought Derek into the kitchen. "Hunters." I said, quickly retrieving the first aid kit from the bathroom and moving back into the kitchen. His wound had yet to heal, and I took it that most likely meant that there had been something on the tip of the arrow. But whatever it was, it couldn't have been the same thing as what was in the wolfs bane bullet- the symptoms were different. While the wound itself was bleeding, the skin around it hadn't turned blue like Erica's bullet wound. And he seemed pale from loss of blood. But not the grayish kind of pale Erica had turned from the effects of the wolfs bane. Which most likely meant his body would just need a little more time to push-whatever this was- out of his system. I wrapped the wound up in gauze and medical tape. "You know, I'm getting really tired of having to patch you up all the time." I muttered, glancing up at him. "Thanks." He said, as I finished taping up the wound. "Isaac, take Erica home. Then go home yourself. Get some rest. It's getting late, and to be honest, I'm gonna have a hard enough time trying to explain this to Louise already." I said. "Who's Louise?" He asked. I sighed. "Just go." I said, hearing the open and close of the front door. I cut an end to the medical tape, and reassembled the first aid kit, closing it before looking up at him. "This, is why I hadn't wanted you to go out there alone in the first place. Next time, It's gonna be a bullet between the eyes. And wolfs bane or not, that's gonna be hard to recover from." I said, hoping off the stool and heading into the living room.

I sat down on the couch for a moment, looking down at the dried blood on my hands. His blood. "This could have ended a lot worse." I murmured, blinking for a moment. A headache began to form at the back of my head. "You know, I should rip off their heads." I said darkly, not even recognizing my own voice and not caring. "I should slaughter them all." I said, getting to my feet as the anger began burning in my chest. "We can't." Derek said simply, leaving the kitchen and joining me in the living room. "Why? They aren't getting it, Derek! There is something, far worse out there, than me or you or anyone else in the pack! The Kanima, is what they should be worried about! And they end up attacking us instead!" I was shouting now, too hostile to hold back the anger. Suddenly he was in front of me, gripping me by the shoulders and looking down directly at me. "Even if we _could, _that would only make matters worse. We need as much fire power as we can get right now, to take the Kanima out." He said. I looked silently at him. "And if one of us ends up dead? Then what?" I asked. "We won't. Because they'll have bigger problems to worry about then us, when they realize how dangerous this thing really is." He said. I clenched my jaw for a moment, as the anger began dying out of me. On one hand, I knew Derek was right. But the hunters were beginning to become a serious problem- one I couldn't let jeopardize the pack.


	6. Undecieving Eyes

I wanted to believe that this would get easier. That this wouldn't end with someone dying. But it was becoming harder and harder to believe that. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. "You know something- you weren't always this way." I said simply. He seemed confused, and I wasn't quite sure if it was because of the sudden change in topic of conversation, or if it was because he didn't know what I was talking about. "What are you talking about?" He asked. "I mean… this. This, hard, metal exterior." He narrowed his eyes at me. "It started with the fire, didn't it?" I asked, waiting for him to lash out in some violent way. But he was still. Utterly, still. He didn't seem to be breathing. "It started when you lost everyone closest to you. When the hunters set the fire. When everyone… died." I said, my voice quiet and hesitant. He blinked for a moment. I wanted him to say something. To say anything. To give me some sort of reaction to work with. But even his face was void of any expression. His grip having loosened on my arms, I reached up and touched the side of his face, hoping to see him react. But he refused to move. Refused to say anything. "So, what else is there?" I said softly, my voice threatening to give out on me.

Before I knew what had happened, I was against the wall. "You don't know what your talking about." He said. His face was so close the tip of his nose touched mine. My heart beat a thousand miles a minute, and I could feel the adrenaline rushing through my body. "Don't I? Derek, why do you think I live with Louise? My parents, my family- anyone who'd ever protected me- was murdered by hunters." His hands had returned to being vice grips on my arms. But it only sent chills through my body. I knew this had been coming since the night I said I would be a part of the pack. I knew it was inevitable. Though the thought had only resided in the back of my mind, it was still there. There seemed to be a lack of rage in his eyes though. His eyes, which he was attempting to pass off as cold and cruel, but his façade of a dangerous, unforgiving exterior made it impossible not to see through him. "That's the difference, between me and the rest of your pack," I told him, my breaths raged. But even I heard the slightly taunting tone to my voice. No, not taunting- daring. I was daring him to prove me wrong. "You can't fool me." I whispered, shaking my head. "Not me." His breath mingled with mine, and for the first time, it seemed as if fear, lurked in the depths of his eyes.

His hands released my arms after a moment, and he stood up straight. I stared up at him for a moment. Then I moved forward, until I was only an inch or so away from him. I looked down at our hands, which were merely an inch or so apart. Gently, and slowly, I put my hand in his, drawing circles on the inside of his palm with my thumb. I felt his pulse jump slightly at my touch. I knew he felt it then, too. I couldn't kill the smirk that played on my lips. "I didn't think I could make you nervous." I muttered, still looking at our hands. "I'm not nervous." He said, his voice deep. I chuckled once. "Then I must excite you in some way- enough to make your pulse jump." I murmured, somehow feeling triumphant. I bit my lip for a moment, as I listened to his response. "Maybe you infuriate me." He said simply. "I told you, Derek, you can't fool me. Besides- if I infuriated you, we'd be fighting right now, trying to take off each other's heads." I looked up into his face. And I could see it in his eyes that he knew I was right. I closed the space between us, my body pressing against his. I fisted the bottom of his shirt with my free hand, looking up at him. I felt him exhale slowly as he looked down at me. I could feel every muscle extended beneath his shirt, pressed against the length of my upper body.

He leaned down, his lips immediately finding the hollow of my neck. My breath stopped momentarily, soon after coming in shallow waves. My canines threatened to lengthen as my pulse raced, and my blood became liquid fire. But I fought back the urge to shift, as his lips made there way up to my jaw, moving against my skin. The feel of him was thrilling, and exciting. Painfully slow- enough to make me whimper in protest to his waist of time- he made his way up to my lips. Finally, he pressed his own against mine. My lips separated under his as he leaned into me, accidentally pushing me against the wall behind us. A small laugh bubbled past my lips at his forcefulness, turning into a soft moan as I felt one of his hands moving just under my shirt, brushing against my naval. I gently bit his bottom lip, before letting his meld back with mine. If felt like he had six hands, all of which were expertly roaming my body at the moment. Suddenly, the sound of the door caught my attention. He must have heard it too, because suddenly he stopping, leaning his forehead against mine. Though he seemed pained to have to do so, he backed away into the kitchen, quickly arranging himself at the counter, and working at looking like nothing had just occurred.

I stood up straight as I turned and saw Louise walk through the door. "Hey-" She began before seeing Derek sitting at the kitchen counter. "Oh." She said after a short pause of surprise. "Derek." She said with a slight nod. But I could see the clench in her jaw as she restrained her burning anger. "We had a run in with the hunters." I said, before she got a chance to start asking questions. "Well, actually is was Derek." I said, glancing back at him. "They uh, have a bit of history together. And apparently the Argents are too _stupid _to realize that the Kanima is the real problem here." I said bitterly. "Wait, they attacked you here?" She asked him, her eyes wide in fear. "No- it happened in the woods." He said. She nodded silently. For a momentary pause, it was silent and awkward. "Okay, well, I'm gonna go to bed." Louise said, heading up the stairs. "Goodnight." She called down. After a moment Derek got up from the kitchen counter. "I," He paused, his eyes narrowing for a flash of a second. "I need to go." He said, moving toward the door. I glanced at the clock on the stove to see that it was in fact ten thirty- seven at night. As he approached the door, I grabbed his arm, quickly pressing my back against the wall nearest to the door. I pulled him to me and kissed him hard. For a moment I felt his hand slide down to my hip. Then it was over. I let go of his arm and nodded, watching as he walked out the door. The moment it closed, I slid down to a sitting position with my back to the wall, my legs having given out on me.

'What the hell?' A voice thought in my head. It didn't sound like my own, but it held the same chastising tone that I had. I took ten deep breaths, but his scent lingered in the air and in my own skin- it made me think about going out and finding him. But the better, more logical part of my brain talked me out of it. With a heaved sigh, I ran a hand through my hair, got up, and headed upstairs to my room. I walked in, shut the door, and quickly changed into my pajamas. Exhausted, I climbed into bed, and pulled the covers up to my neck. For god only knows how long, the events that had taken place only moments earlier continued to play in a seemingly endless loop through my mind. But eventually, the loop ended, and sleep over took, my too tired mind, and my too tired body.


	7. Dreams Before the Day

I awoke to the sound of heavy, booted footsteps downstairs. I sat up, having thought an intruder had managed to break in. But Derek's familiar scent wafted up from the first level of the house. I breathed a sigh of relief, glad that I didn't have to worry about a possible threat in my house- like one of the Argents. I flipped back the covers and got out of bed, quickly running a brush through my hair and heading downstairs. I walked into the living room to find Derek sitting on the couch. "Hey. What is it?" I asked, noticing the somewhat angry expression on his face. He looked up at me as I sat down next to him on the couch. Slowly his eyes became light, and comforted. Without saying a single word, he leaned in, pressing his lips to mine. Surprise registered in my mind, overshadowed my the feeling of his lips against mine. His hand moved down to my hip, brushing against my skin and sending chills through my spine. I leaned into him, winding my hand into his hair. His scent seemed to wrap around my entire body, and all of my senses. A soft moan escaped my lips at the touch of his fingertips. My heart seemed to stop, and yet, I couldn't bring myself to care. My breaths were shallow, and ragged, as I lay on the couch with him on top of me. His hand skimmed down from my hip to my thigh, as he pulled my leg around his waist. The position pressed the lower half of my body against his, and it felt as if someone had lit fireworks behind my closed eyelids. His lips separated from mine, moving down to my neck, moving to my shoulder. "Derek." I purred, as he pushed down the strap of my tank top, teasing the flesh there with his lips.

My eyes snapped open and I sat up at lighting speed, only causing me to become dizzy. The room spun for a moment, before I got my bearings. I'd woken in a cold sweat, my hair stuck to the back of my neck. "Damn it." I muttered, letting my head hang in my hands. It was a dream- a god damn dream. I sighed, taking a few deep breaths. Then I noticed his scent. In the room with me. I looked up and saw him sitting in my desk chair. "Hi." I muttered, looking down at my hands. "You said my name." I looked up at him. "Huh?" I asked. "In your sleep, you said my name." He explained. I nodded. "I can't control my dreams." I'd managed to say, as I felt the flush rising from the sides of my neck up into my cheeks. "Meet me at the edge of the woods at lunch with the rest of the pack." He said, getting up from the chair. I nodded, watching as he moved toward the window. "How long were you there?" I asked, before he had a chance to leave. He turned to look at me. "Long enough to know what you were dreaming about." He said with a devilish, knowing grin. They seemed to be a rare occurrence when it came to Derek. I stood then, moving to stand in front of him. Already knowing what I wanted, he leaned down and kissed me, pulling me against him by the small of my back. After a moment, I pulled away and looked up into his eyes. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that." I murmured, chills running through my spine and over my skin. He kissed me gently once, before making his exit out the window.

I got dressed, running a brush through my hair before heading to school. As I arrived, I noticed Erica waiting for me at the door. It seemed strange, her off and on mood swings that varied between hating me and being my friend. As I reached the entry, she grabbed my hand, pulling my down the hall into the girl's bathroom. "What did you do to Derek?" She asked, once we were alone. I narrowed my eyes at her. "I'm sorry, what?" I asked. "Derek. He's not… himself. He hasn't been acting normal. What'd you do?" She said. I rolled my eyes. "Erica, have you ever thought that maybe the reason he isn't acting normal is because there's a giant ass lizard man running around Beacon Hills, and he's trying to keep everyone from dying?" I suggested. I saw her jaw clench, but she sighed. "Look, tell Isaac and Boyd that Derek wants us to meet him on the edge of the woods at lunch." I said, before leaving her standing alone in the bathroom.

I ran my hand through my hair as I rounded the corner, heading for biology when I nearly ran into Scott. "Whoa!" I said, recoiling so I didn't tumble onto him. "What are you up too?" He asked, not bothering with small talk. "Heading to biology last time I checked." I said, matter of factly. "I mean with Derek, and the Kanima. You're up to something, so spill it." He said. I faked a frown, as if I had no clue what he were talking about. He glared at me, his brow furrowing together. I sighed. "Look, Scott- Derek isn't the one you should be worried about." I said. "Really?" He asked skeptically. "Yes, really. If anything, it's your girlfriend and her family you need to be concerned with." I said, putting a hand on my hip in indifference. "What the hell are you talking about?" He asked. I shook my head at his lack of understanding. "A whole group of hunters tried to kill Erica yesterday. And then they tried killing Derek, too." I explained. He narrowed his eyes at me. "Did they see you?" He asked. I shook my head. "No. But that's not the point. The point is, that they should be worried about the giant lizard roaming Beacon Hills right now, instead of our pack." I said. His jaw clenched. "Look, I gotta go, okay?" I said, passing him and heading for biology. As I headed toward the doorway, I noticed Jackson moving toward me. "Hey. Your Selene, right?" He asked, standing between me and the door. "Yeah." I said, glancing at the doorway and hoping to somehow escape this conversation. "And, your new?" He asked. I nodded, looking back at him. "Well then, it's my job to invite you to tonight's lacrosse game." He said with a half grin. I faked a smile. "I'd love too." I said. He nodded. "Good- then I'll see you in the stands." He said, before walking past me. I walked into Biology exactly thirty seconds before the teacher did. While watching Jackson's lacrosse game was the last thing on my mind, I needed to keep an eye on him- make sure nothing too suspicious happened. And if it did, well,- I was gonna have to be damage control. I sighed as I plopped down in my seat, dreading what awaited me.


	8. Gym Class and Bio Notes

I felt as if shooting myself in the head wouldn't be too bad of an idea in biology. The teacher's voice was dull, as he rambled on and on about the things I already knew. I glanced over at Allison, thinking about what happened in the woods. 'I bet she had no clue what happened.' I thought. I ripped a piece of paper out of my notebook, scribbling a note to her. "Do you know what happened yesterday- out in the woods?" I folded it up, tossing it in her direction when the teacher had turned around to write something on the board. She glanced down at the paper, grabbing it off the floor before looking up at me. I watched, as she turned around and unfolded the note, reading over it. She glanced back at me for a moment with a confused expression before scribbling on the paper and passing it back to me. I opened it to read what she'd wrote. "You mean how Derek tried to break into my house?" I narrowed my eyes at the paper. "No- I mean about the rest of your family trying to kill Erica." I wrote, before passing the paper back to her. I watched her read it. She sat up for a moment, stiff and rigid, before responding to what I'd written. She passed me the note, and I hurried to unfold the paper and read what she wrote. "What? What happened? No one told me they'd attacked Erica. I didn't go straight home- I was with Scott for the most part. But the minute I walked through the door they told me we were going after Derek. But no one said anything about Erica."

I looked up at her, as she glanced back at me. "No, it happened before that- earlier in the day. They shot her with an arrow." I wrote, before sending the note her way. I decided it would be best if I left out the fact that Erica had also been shot with a wolfs bane bullet. They didn't know I had stolen the rest of them- and I'd like to keep it that way. Eventually they would realize that they were missing- but they wouldn't know it was me. I watched as she stiffened for a moment. Then she crumpled up the note, and stuffed it in her pocket. After biology, was gym. As I walked to my locker to grab my gym bag, I thought about the conversation Allison and I had had during class. Her family hadn't even told her the whole truth. They'd decided to leave out the fact that they'd tried to kill Erica. I reached my locker, opening it and grabbing my bag before heading to the gym.

As I walked into the gym, I noticed the coach standing against the wall, reading a piece of paper. While I barely knew him, I'd seen him around school every now and then. Walking the halls, and terrorizing anyone he recognized from the lacrosse team. I walked into the girls locker room, having been the first one there, and quickly changed into my shorts and my tank top. As I walked into the gym, I noticed a group of boys standing by the bleachers, watching as the coach set up a mat in the middle of the floor. Isaac stood among them, talking to what I assumed to be a friend of his. Toward the end, I noticed both Scott and Stiles, talking and looking around. "Okay!" The coach yelled, as more girls entered the gym and hurried into the locker room. "Today, we are going to be sparring." He said. I couldn't help but smile at the thought. I felt kinda bad for whoever it was I was paired up with. I'd been trained by my parents from the time I was ten to be a fighter. And with good reason.

The coach glanced at me as I walked toward the rest of the group. "Selene, is it?" He asked. I nodded. "Well, since you're new, you get to go first." He said, trying to come off as intimidating. I smiled at him. "With pleasure. Go, ahead coach- name my opponent." I said, walking onto the mat. I took off my shoes, leaving me in my socks. "Uh, why are you taking off your shoes?" The coach asked. I glanced at him. "Well last I checked you didn't want anyone getting a concussion on your watch, did you. You know, if they get kicked in the head and someone's wearing their shoes." He glanced at the rest of the class. "No, of course not." He said, passing off a false laugh and a false smile at his lack of forethought for the class's safety. I looked back at the group, noticing more girls having been added to the mix. "Allison, why don't you give her a go." He said. I noticed her presence then, toward the front of the line. A few of the guys I didn't know snickered- I take it that meant she was good- but stopped immediately when I picked them out of the crowd with my glaring eyes.

Allison took off her shoes and stepped onto the mat, smiling kindly. "Sure thing." She said. "Okay, no cheep shots. No kicking each other when one of you is down. And try not to hurt each other too too bad, okay?" The coach said. We both nodded. "Start!" He yelled. We began circling each other, looking for an opening. I wouldn't be surprised if she was a decent fighter, growing up in a family of hunters. But truth be told, my heightened senses, in addition to my speed and strength, I had a feeling I knew how this fight would go. She stepped forward, throwing a right hook. I ducked under it, coming out on the other side and tripping her in the process. I turned in time to see her catch herself on her hands as she fell onto the mat. She got up, narrowing her eyes at me for a moment as we continued circling each other. She moved to the side, going in for a body shot. I moved to the opposite side, tripping her foot. She fell forward again, forgetting to catch herself on the mat. I took it as an opportunity, straddling her legs and pinning her arms. I could hear the coach laughing. "Looks like we gotta winner!" He said loudly. I got up, helping Allison to her feet. She smiled at me. "Nice. You're the first one to beat me in a while." She whispered. I laughed, sighing as she walked back toward the bleachers. "Who's next?" I asked, glancing back at the coach. He looked at the line up. "Lahey, your up." He said. I looked up as Isaac stepped on the mat. "Round two." He whispered. I smiled. "Just, don't break anything this time." He said. I nodded, still smiling. We began circling each other, as Allison and I had done just moments earlier. Only he decided to take a more direct approach. He ran forward, tackling me to the ground. Easy!" The coach yelled. Now people were cheering and whistling.

He leaned over me, looking down at me with a sneer of a smile. "Now wha-" He began. Before he could finish his statement, I wrapped my legs around his waist and squeezed, pressuring his ribs. I saw his jaw clench in pain, forcing me to loosen up enough so as not to break anything. He'd have a hard time explaining that one to the coach. I rolled, forcing him onto his back. There I pinned his arms to the mat. I could hear the coach laughing again. And I was too. "We've got our winner!" The coach hollered. "Looks like I won this round too." I said to him. He smiled up at me. I'll beat you eventually. Now get off of me. You bruised my ribs." He said. I rolled off him, getting to my feet and helping him up. "Sorry bout that." I said, only loud enough for him to hear before he headed back toward the bleachers. "Next?" I asked. I hadn't even broken a sweat. "Stilinski!" He yelled. I looked up at Stiles. He sighed, hanging his head as he moved toward the mat. "Go easy on me?" He asked, looking up at me as he took a fighting stance. I nodded. We circled each other for a moment, and I almost felt bad about having to spar with Stiles. I didn't exactly take him for the "fighting" type. But I respected him for trying.

He moved off to the side as I faked a jab, putting him where I'd hoped he would go. Using the back of my heel, I tripped him foot, making him fall on his back. I leaped down by his side, holding him by the throat. "There, see?" I said. "Fairly painless." He nodded, as I let him up from the mat. "Damn, Stilinski. That was the least painful of any of these few sparring sessions. I think Selene actually likes you." He said. I rolled my eyes, preparing for the next session. One by one though, I faced, and beat, every opponent the coach gave me without breaking a sweat.

When it was Scott's turn, he walked silently up to the mat. "Ready?" I asked, feeling a bit more playful now that my opponent stood a fighting chance against me. He nodded. We circled each other and before he had a chance to make a move, I stepped forward and tripped his leg out from under him. But he grabbed my arm, pulling me down on top of him. We rolled for a moment, until we landed with him on top. He tried pinning my arms, but not until I'd gotten my legs under him enough to kick him off of me. I got to my feet and we began circling each other again. "Looks like you might have a fighting chance Mcaul." The coach said. I smiled, knowing that while the thought was nice in theory, it was ultimately futile. He charged, attempting to tackle me. But I ducked to the side, tripping his foot and ending the fight sitting on his legs with his arms pinned behind his back. "Well, looks like you have yet to prove me right Mcaul." The coach said happily. "Showers everyone!" He yelled, as I climbed off of Scott and helped him to his feet. He shook my hand before heading into the locker room. "Selene." The coach said, coming to my side. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" He asked. I smiled. "Uh, krav maga classes when I was little." I said with a nonchalant shrug. He nodded. "Good work." He said, before following the guys into the boy's locker room. With a sigh, I walked into the girls locker room myself, taking a quick shower and changing back into my regular clothes.


	9. Midway Points and Sparring

After an hour of Algebra, and an hour of American history, it was time for lunch. I walked through the already crowded cafeteria, and out the side door, heading for the woods. As I got closer, I noticed a tall figure with a dark head of hair leaning against a tree. I made my way over to Derek, noticing that he stood alone. "They're on their way." I said as I reached him. Today he wore dark gray jeans, a black t shirt, and a black leather jacket. He nodded silently. Something seemed stiff about him today. "You okay?" I asked, stepping closer. He seemed to have dosed off into a mindset of his own until I approached him. He nodded, his brow furrowing together. "You don't seem it." I said, noticing the concerned expression on his face. He shook his head. "I'm just tired." He muttered. I narrowed my eyes for a moment, looking at him. He seemed more than tired- he seemed exhausted. I heard the sound of footsteps as the rest of the pack arrived. "What's with the family meeting?" Isaac asked, glancing over at Boyd, who failed at hiding his smirk. I rolled my eyes. "Don't make me kick your ass like I did in gym this morning." I said tauntingly. He growled at me, but kept his mouth shut. "Look, we have a plan to catch the Kanima." Derek said, taking a standing position. "Do we?" Erica asked, glancing at her pack-mates. "Yes. Now as you all know tomorrow is the full moon. And given that you've all found your anchors to keep from trying to kill each other and everyone around you, hopefully this plan will go accordingly." He said. "Erica and Selene your going to watch Jackson, and Isaac and Boyd, you'll watch Lydia. It's the only way to determine who the Kanima is. Once we have an answer, you get the hell outta doge." He said. I watched as all of their expressions became serious.

"I'll be at a halfway point in the woods. You're all going to meet me there at midnight. Are we clear." He said. After a moment of thought, they nodded. "Good. Meet me back here after school so we can address where the halfway point is going to be." He said. They nodded, as did he in return, signaling them that they could go. I walked up to Derek, who'd reclaimed his casual lean against a tree. "You kicked Isaac's ass this morning in gym?" He asked with a grin. I smiled. "During the uh, sparring session." I said. He laughed. "I wish I'd been there." He said, looking back at the school. "Tonight's the lacrosse game. And Jackson invited me to go." I said, deciding that it might not be such a good idea to go alone. He seemed indifferent to the thought. "I need you there." I said. That was when he looked up at me in surprise. "Look, I don't know much about lacrosse, but I do know that it can get violent. And the night before the full moon, anything could happen. I need you there to make sure nothing does." I said. He clenched his jaw for a moment. "You know, I'm not exactly a respectable citizen in this town." He muttered, looking down at the ground. I moved closer until I was flush with him. He looked down at me in slight surprise. "I know." I murmured. "That's what makes this," I said. "So much fun." I leaned up, pressing my lips to his. His lips were warm, and devilishly inviting against mine as he kissed me back. His arms wrapped around my torso, pulling me tighter against him. My hand wound it's way into his hair, pulling him to me. Gently, I bit his bottom lip, hearing a deep, excited growl in the back of his throat. As I let go of his lip, I pulled back and looked up at him. He leaned down and whispered into my ear. "I love when you do that." He murmured seductively, his lips tickling my earlobe before finding the hollow of my throat. I fought back the urge to ditch school and take shelter with him, knowing that I still had to go back.

A small moan inevitably escaped me, followed by a groan of disappointment. "I have to go back." I murmured in his ear. He gave a low, playful growl. "Do you _have _too?" He asked, his hands roaming south of the boarder. I gasped at his sudden and unexpectedly playful mood. Another groan passed my lips, this one not for the sake of disappointment. More-so the fact that the way he touched me felt _really, really _good. In ways and places it most likely shouldn't. "Don't do this too me now Derek. I-" "Last I checked this was exactly what you wanted me to do to you." He murmured into my neck, pulling me against him. Pelvis, to pelvis. I gasped, my heart nearly jumping into my throat at the pure shock of it. I bit my lip for a moment, trying to keep from falling even deeper into a moment I knew would have to end in a matter of seconds. With an internal sigh, I found his lips again and pressed mine against them, kissing him fiercely enough the hear his heartbeat jump. When I pulled back I smiled up at him. "Eight then?" I asked. He narrowed his eyes at me for a split second, having realized my feminine charm was what won him over. "Fine." He said. I nodded, giving him one last, lingering kiss before heading back toward the school, a blush rising in my cheeks.

The day proved uneventful, and boring, once again. Nothing new. By the end of the day, I was ready to find Erica, Isaac, and Boyd, and meet Derek at the edge of the woods. But for whatever reason, I only managed to find Erica. She stood by her locker, getting her bag. I walked up to her and waited as she gathered her things. "Ready?" I asked, when she closed her locker. She nodded as we headed down the hall. We snuck through the cafeteria's side door, heading toward the woods. As expected, Derek stood, leaning casually against a tree. He stood up straight upon seeing us, quickly glancing at some spot behind us. I turned to look and saw Boyd and Isaac walked behind us, having left through the cafeteria door like we did. "So, Isaac. What's this I hear about you getting your ass kicked by Selene here?" Erica said with a grin. He glared at her for a moment. "Nothing I wouldn't mind showing you." He threatened. She rolled her eyes, as Derek signaled us to follow him into the woods as we settled on a halfway point.

After we'd found a place in the woods to settle on as the meeting spot, Erica Isaac and Boyd went home. Derek and I trudged through the woods in silence for a moment. "So, given that Isaac wasn't much of a challenge, I say we spar." I said. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and noticed a small smirk playing on his lips. "Why not?" He sighed. We came to the clearing where the Lacrosse field was, and seemed to silently decide that this would be our sparring arena. It was quiet, and empty aside from the bleachers and the game lights. We stood in the middle of the field, circling each other as was did this morning in gym class. Just when I suspected that he wouldn't make a move in the next hour or so, he charged forward, inevitably knocking me to the ground. We rolled for a moment until we landed with him hovering above me, arms pinned down. He smiled down at me, leaning forward presumably to kiss me. But luckily for me it was enough of a distraction to him for me to get my legs around his waist, and push him to the side, rolling so that our positions were switched. "Never let your opponent fool you, no matter how charming they may be." I said mockingly, looking down into his hazel eyes. He gave me a dazzlingly devilish smile. "I can see that now." He said, somehow managing to add innuendo to his words. I stretched out along the length of his chest, so we were face to face. My hands found his, and I carefully twined our fingers together, watching him all the while. "No matter, how, attracted to them you might be." I said seductively, feeling his heartbeat rise against my chest.

Before I had a chance to blink, he'd managed to flip me onto my back. He settled between my legs, looking back down at me. "Right." He said with a grin. He had yet to pin down my arms though, giving me a chance to push him away. I got to my feet, feeling myself smile at the surprised expression on his face. But he stood, and we began circling each other again. I darted past him, kicking his foot out from underneath him and causing him to fall backwards. I tackled him then, pinning him to the ground. "There." I said, realizing how ragged my breath was. "I win." I said, leaning in and kissing him gently before helping him to his feet. "Fair enough." He said, yanking me too him and kissing me fiercely enough to take my breath away. "Is that my prize for winning the match?" I asked when we parted, feeling both good and bad in every way possible. He smiled a devilish, catty smile at me. I could feel the hum in his chest as he moved his lips to the crook of my neck, inhaling my scent. "That doesn't have to be the only thing you've won." He murmured. I shivered, as his hands slid into the back pockets of my jeans. He nipped the side of my neck, pulling my closer to him with his hands in my pockets. I bit my lip, knowing that we needed to get ready for the lacrosse game- if something did happen tonight, we both needed to be on our toes.

I sighed peacefully, enjoying the feel of the muscle under the fabric of his shirt against the length of me. "C'mon. We'd better get ready for this lacrosse game. I get the feeling something bad is on it's way." I murmured. After a moment, he slowly pulled his hands from my back pocket, pulling back enough to look at me with a nod. We walked toward the parking lot, as we reached my car. 'I'll be in the woods." He said, as I leaned against the hood of my car. "I can watch the game from there without raising too much suspicion from the audience." He said. I nodded, looking at his tall stature for a moment.


	10. Confessions and Conspiracy

"Can I ask you something?" I said. His brow furrowed together but he remained silent, waiting for my question. "What is it, about… me, that makes you like this?" I asked. I watched him for a moment, as his expression became somewhat confused. "What do you mean?" He asked. I ducked my eyes, looking down at my foot as I dug the toe of my shoe into the dirt. "I mean, what is it about me that makes you... I don't know… open up?" I asked, keeping my eyes trained on my shoe as I waited nervously for his response.

I could feel the rays of his dark eyes on me, watching, analyzing my every move. "Normally, around the rest of the pack your… different. You have your guard up. But with me you seem different. More…" I took a deep, shaky breath as I struggled for the right word. "I don't know… you." I finished, refusing to meet his eyes. When I lacked a response, I was forced to look up at him. He'd moved closer to me, close enough for me to feel the heat radiating off of his body. He lifted a hand and caressed the side of my face, moving a piece of my hair in the process. "I don't feel like I have to stay guarded around you." He said, looking down at the ground for a moment. "In some strange way, I think you get me a lot better than most other people." He looked back up at me, his eyes boring into mine and forcing me to look away. While it seemed foolish in my mind, tears threatened to well in my eyes. I bit them back, grinding my teeth against one another until I was sure the tears wouldn't fall. I tried to speak but my voice caught in my throat, and I was stuck in silence. I took a deep breath, hoping he would say something to break the quiet that consumed us.

"Why are you so guarded around everyone else?" I asked, toeing the ground with my shoe once more. "Because, I know from personal experience that people have no problem stabbing me I the back." He said, his expression hardening at what I could only assume was a bad memory. I moved forward and wrapped my arms around his waist, letting my head rest against his chest. I closed my eyes for a moment, happy to listen to the sound of his heartbeat. He wrapped his arms around me, and I felt safe in his arms. Safer than I'd felt in a _very _long time. I opened my eyes as I looked up at him, noticing his expression had softened. After a moment I backed up, knowing that it would soon be dark, and we needed to be ready for the lacrosse game. "I'll see you at eight." I murmured, getting into the car. I sat and watched him leave, before letting the tears fall. Wasn't exactly sure why I crying, but I couldn't control it either. After a moment, I wiped my eyes, and drove home, trying to recover from my break down.

I walked through the door and saw Louise sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of what smelled like green tea. "Hey." I said quietly, walking into the kitchen. She looked up from the magazine she'd been reading and smiled. "Hey pup." She said. "I've been thinking. While I understand the concept of supernatural strength and speed, what if you learned how to shoot a bow and arrow?" She asked. I thought for a moment. "Why would I learn to use a hunter's weapon?" I asked, standing over her shoulder to see that she was looking through a weapons catalogue. "Because, if you learn to use one, it gives you just as much of an advantage as the hunters in this town." I narrowed my eyes at the page, looking at the compound bows and fiber glass arrows. "Why not just learn to use a gun?" I asked, glancing at her some- what excited face. "Because guns require a license. And a bow and arrow is a lot less likely to be heard my anyone near by should you get into an altercation with the hunters." She said. I nodded, noticing that the points she made were in fact valid. "Okay. I see your point." I said. She smiled. "Good. I'll start looking around tomorrow." She said. I nodded. "Hey, uh, the captain of the lacrosse team invited me to their game tonight. Not to mention that he's one of our possible Kanima suspects. I figure if I go, at least I can keep an eye on him." I said. She nodded, taking a sip of her tea. I waked away, heading into my room.

I walked in, immediately opening one of my dresser drawers. While my school clothes were nice, I decided to look some-what… I don't know… festive, for the game. Beacon Hills High took their lacrosse games quite serious from what I learned on the website. I might as well dress for the occasion. I grabbed a dress from the drawer, looking it over. It was black, reaching down to about mid thigh. It'd neckline could be considered medium, and the strap- sleeves were on the outer part of my shoulders. I smiled, knowing it would be perfect. At least this was some sort of a normal aspect to my very supernatural life. I laid it on the bed, and grabbed my beige jacket to go with it. Finally, I pulled out my black, heeled ankle boots. I quickly stripped out of my clothes, tossing them into the hamper. I pulled on the dress, along with the boots, and the jacket.

I took a look in my desk mirror, pulling a brush through my hair before pulling it into a high pony tail, leaving a few strands out in the back and the sides. I looked outside to see that it was already getting dark out. I pulled my phone from my jacket pocket and saw that it was in fact 7:20. "Damn." I muttered, wondering how much time Derek and I had spent sparring. I sighed, realizing that for the next forty minutes I had absolutely nothing to do. As I paced back and forth next to my bed. I began to think about tomorrow night. The plan we'd come up with was dangerous. Really dangerous. And while this thing seemed to have no weaknesses, there was one thing we had yet to try. Wolfs bane. I pulled out my laptop, turning it on and going to the Beacon Hills information page I'd saved to my favorites. I looked through a couple of their pages, looking through files about recent activity. Then I came to a photo with a caption: "ANIMAL ATTACK IN BEACON HILLS- DEER VICTIM." The photo was of a dead deer lying in a field. While the photo was black and white, I noticed a peculiar spiral on the side of the deer. It was familiar as a werewolf marking, left on a victim. Under the photo, was an article explaining how the deer was spotted shortly after it's demise. "The vet who committed the autopsy was Dr. Deacon, of Beacon Hills. He determined the cause of death to be loss of blood, due to large claw marks along the underside of the deer." I read out loud.

Whoever this doctor was, he obviously knew more than what he was letting the general public believe he knew. I printed the article before shutting off my laptop, quickly grabbing my car keys and heading downstairs. "I'll be back." I called to Louise, as I walked out the front door. There was an address for the vet's office in the article, and I'd decided the doc and I should have a little bit of a talk. If he knew what was really going on in Beacon Hills, and he had yet to expose us to the hunters, that meant that on some level he must be on our side. I found the building quickly enough, parking the car out front. I grabbed the article and stepped out of the car, already feeling my blood begin to rush inside my head. As I reached the door, I noticed the lights were off, and the sign on the front door read "CLOSED". I tapped the glass, peering inside. I heard someone's footsteps, before a man came to the door. He was tall in stature, his dark eyes alert. His skin was the color of mocha, and while he lacked any hair on the top of his head, his face was labeled with a slight beard, a go-T, and a mustache, all of which were beginning to gray. "I'm sorry, we're closed." He said loudly. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Dr. Deaton, is it?" I called to him as he began to turn around. He stopped, turning to look at me. "Yes." He said simply. "My name is Selene, and while I understand you're closed, I am in dire need of your assistance. You see, my case here has nothing to do with a household pet." I explained, watching as his eyes became suspicious. I looked at the photo on the paper and pressed the paper against the glass. His face fell into a much darker expression than before. He sighed, coming to the door. He unlocked it and opened it, letting me inside. "Given that you haven't threatened me or tried to kill me yet, I assume you're a friend of Scott's?" He asked. "We know each other." I muttered, as he lead the way into what I guessed to be an animal examination room. "And I assume you got that article off the website?" He asked. I nodded, glancing around the room. "I just moved to Beacon Hills." I said absently, glancing in his direction and seeing him nod. "And given your interest in this photograph, I can assume you know more than most of the residents in Beacon Hills." He said. I looked directly at him now, nodding silently. "You could say that." I said, glancing back around the room. "So how much do you know about… Beacon Hills?" I asked. "If you're wondering weather or not I know about the Kanima, the answer is yes. Unfortunately, I lack knowledge as to it's true identity, and it's whereabouts, if that's what your seeking." He said.

"No, that's not what I want from you." I began. "I'm sure you have some wolfs-bane in your possession." I said, looking over at him from across the examination table. "Yes, I do." He said. I nodded. "And I'm sure you have it in more than one form. One of which I'm guessing, is both potent and liquidated." I said, watching him closely. His brow furrowed at me. "Yes. What is it that you want with it? Last I checked it was lethal to your kind." He said. He was observant. He knew what side of the track I ran without me having to spell it out for him. "Yes. But it seems to be the only tactic left untested on the Kanima." I said. "So you know who it is then?" He asked. I shook my head. "No. I don't. But I know how to draw it out. And given that this thing seems to be as powerful as it is, I doubt it would actually kill the recipient." I said. He nodded, moving over to a cabinet and grabbing a small container of the purple liquid. He set it on the table, along with a syringe. "Unfortunately, I'm going to need two syringes for this plan to work." I said. He narrowed his eyes at me, but proceeded in getting me the second syringe. I nodded. "Thank you." I said, grabbing the materials and putting them in my pockets. "Tell me how things pan out." He said as I started back toward the entrance. I walked outside, glancing at my phone: 7:50. "Damn it." I muttered, hurrying to my car and speeding to the school. I arrived just in time for the lacrosse game to start.


	11. Suspicion and Sleepovers

I hurried up to the bleachers as people began to arrive, and the teams flooded onto the field. I noticed Stiles sitting at the bottom, watching closely as the game started. I made my way up to the back section of the bleachers, before looking into the forest. A human's vision would be too poor for them to see Derek's tall stature just behind the clearing of the lacrosse field, leaning against a tree. As I sat down, I made sure no one is looking before pulling the container of liquefied wolfs bane out of my pocket to examine it. Holding it made me nervous, given that if the cap were to fall off I'd be as good as dead. But it seemed to be a necessary evil. Tomorrow night, when we drew out the plan, we would each take one syringe full of wolfs bane, and wait for the Kanima to shift. Depending on who the Kanima really was, we might be able to inject it with enough wolfs bane to incapacitate it. But it would be one hell of a miracle if it actually worked.

I noticed Jackson moving out onto the field, along with Scott, as they pulled on their gear. "Let the games begin." I muttered, watching as each team took their positions. As the game got under head- way, I watched the crowd cheer when Scott made a goal. As the next term began, I looked for Jackson, seeing him move across the field. He ran hard and fast, catching the ball when Scott passed it to him. He tossed it into the goal, and the crowd screeched their applause for him. Another term began, and I watched as once again Jackson got the ball. As he ran toward the net, another member of the opposite team charged him, clothes- lining him with his lacrosse stick. Jackson fell backwards, falling onto his leg. "Damn it." I muttered loudly, as the crowd in the stands began yelling at the opposite team. I ran from the stands, noticing as Derek began to make his way toward the field. I waved him back, hoping that if I got to Jackson first, we could avoid catastrophe.

I raced onto the field, along with Stiles who wasn't too far behind. I burst through the crowd, made up of Scott and the rest of his teammates, the coach, and a tall man I assumed was his father. I managed to work my way past them, kneeling by his side. "Hey you can't be on the-" Some one began. I found who the voice belonged to and glared at the boy, immediately shutting him up. I looked back down at Jackson, who seemed to have been knocked out on impact. "Someone get me the smelling salts!" The coach wailed. A moment later someone broke through the crowd with the smelling salts the coach had asked for. He pulled off Jackson's helmet, not seeming to care that I was on the field. He held the salts in front of his nose, and after a moment, his eyes fluttered open. "What the hell…" He muttered, sitting up. I looked down at his leg, noticing that it was in a different position that when he'd first been knocked down. It'd looked as if it were broken. Now it was simply stretched out in front of him. He got to his feet, ignoring the coaches pleas for him to stay down. "I'm fine." He grumbled, picking up his helmet. The coach looked at him. "How many fingers am I holding up?" He asked, holding up four. "Four." Jackson said, looking at him as if he were insane. The coach smiled. "He's okay!" He yelled, and the crowd cheered wildly. I looked up to see Derek standing back beside the tree. I gave him a nod, and he responded in kind- a sour expression on his face. 'So he'd seen it too.' I thought, as I made my way back up to the bleachers, sitting in my previous seat. I was sure Jackson's leg had been broken. But he'd gotten up as if it were nothing. It just wasn't right.

The rest of the game went off without a hitch, and our team won. At the end of the game, I walked onto the field and looked over at Stiles and Scott as they talked heatedly with one another. 'I wonder if they saw it too?' I thought, looking back toward the forest. Derek stood in wait, obviously wanting to talk to me about what happened out on the field. I glanced back to see that in fact most of the crowd had already begun to dissipate. I headed into the forest, meeting Derek at his side. "You saw what happened out there, didn't you? Tell me you saw it." I said, my breath ragged because I'd run over to him. "Yeah. I saw it." He said. Before we could continue, I noticed a dark figure standing a few feet away, and the glimmer of what looked like an arrow set in a bow. "Run!" I yelled, grabbing his arm and dragging him in the opposite direction as an arrow flew past his head. I felt something sharp penetrate my shoulder, and I bit back a scream of pain. I kept running, my breath escaping me with each step. More arrows whizzed past our heads, but eventually we lost them. I stopped momentarily, leaning against a tree, propped against my good arm. "Derek," I said, looking up at him. He looked at me, and that was when he noticed that arrow. "I need you to pull the arrow out." I said. He moved toward me looking at the arrow. It hadn't come out on the other side of my shoulder, so I took it that this was going to hurt. He looked at me and I nodded, telling him I was ready. He took hold of the back of the arrow, slowly pulling it out. Tears inevitably rolled down my cheeks, and I fought back the urge to scream. He finished pulling out the arrow, but I could tell the wound had yet to heal. "They'd used wolfs bane on the tip of the arrow." I muttered, my legs giving out on me as I fell to my knees. I looked over at Derek who kneeled beside me. My head swam with pain as I tried to catch my breath. I felt his finger wipe the tears that had fallen on my cheeks. "C'mon." He said, wrapping his arm around my waist and helping me to my feet. Before I had a chance to try and walk he lifted me into his arms, and started through the forest. "Well, when I pictured you sweeping me off my feet I didn't think it'd be like this." I murmured against the hollow of his neck. I closed my eyes, hearing him chuckle.

I breathed in his scent, my head against his shoulder. It gave me something other than the pain to think about. I couldn't help but smile, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. When I opened my eyes, we were somehow in the parking lot, standing before my car. "Where are your keys?" He asked. I reached into one of my pockets and pulled out the keys, handing them to him. After a moment, I felt myself being lowered into the car. I opened my eyes and saw that I was in the passenger's seat. He climbed in next to me, shutting the door and putting the key in the ignition. He started the car and glanced at me. "You'll be okay." He said after a moment, pulling onto the road. I curled up in the seat so that I was facing him. I was barely able to keep my eyes open, but when I could, I would watch him closely, analyzing his features. Dark, attentive eyes, with long. Straight nose. Full, warm lips. I smiled for a moment, before I felt myself fall into unconsciousness.

I woke up in my bed. My head and my shoulder heart. I couldn't tell which one hurt more. I sat up, propping myself on my good arm. I looked around the room for a moment. My throat was dry, and kind of burned. I pulled back the covers, and saw that I was in a pair of blue cotton pajama bottoms, and a white tank top. 'How the hell did I end up in these clothes?' I thought, hoping Derek wasn't the one to have gone and put them on me. I got up from the bed and went into the bathroom, grabbing the glass I kept by the sink and filling it with water. I took a sip, and dumped the rest down the drain, leaving the bathroom. "Derek?" I called, walking down the stairs. As I reached the bottom, I saw him sitting at the kitchen table. He looked up when I called his name. "Your up." He said. I nodded. Given he was alone, I assumed Louise had already gone to bed. "How'd I get into these clothes?" I asked. "I put you in them." He said matter of factly. I looked at him in disbelief. "Your dress got in the way of the bandaging." He said simply. I touched my shoulder and found a patch of gauze over the wound. "Oh." I said after a moment. I sighed, pulling my hair out of its pony tail. Then I remembered the wolfs bane.

"Where's my jacket?" I asked, my blood starting to rush. He nodded toward the couch, and I glanced at it to see it draped over the back side. I walked over to it, reaching into the pockets and pulling out the vile of wolfs bane along with the syringes. "Selene, what the-" "I got it from Deaton." I said, cutting him off and joining him at the kitchen island, sitting down next to him. "The vet?" He asked. I nodded. "I did a little research on the website, and found out about that case with the deer a few years back. The one with the triskelion marking on it." I explained. "I have a plan. See, the one thing we have yet to try on the Kanima is wolfs bane." I said. He looked at me for a moment. "If this thing is a shape shifter, that means that on some level, it has to abide by the same rules that we do, right?" I said. He nodded. "Well, what if it's weaknesses are the same as ours? Wolfs bane? Arrows?" I said, looking up at him. "Tomorrow night, the will Kanima will shift. If we can inject it with wolfs bane, we might be able to incapacitate it." I explained. He took the vile of wolfs bane in his hand, looking it over. "If your right… we might actually be able to capture this thing." He said, putting the vile back on the counter.

After a moment he sighed. "Lemme check your wounds." He said. I nodded, turning my injured shoulder toward him and moving my hair to the side so it was out of the way. I felt him peel back the tape and move the gauze out of the way. "You'll be healed by the morning." He said, pressing the tape back into place. I nodded. "Thanks." I said, turning back to him. I could see in his eyes how tired he was. He didn't look like he had anything left. "Stay here tonight." I said, looking up at him. He looked down at me. "Please." I said. "You're exhausted. That much I know." I murmured. After what seemed to be an internal conflict by the look on his face, he nodded. I leaned up and kissed him gently, letting my hand grip the collar of his shirt. After a moment, I pulled back to look into his eyes. While I could hear his high paced heartbeat, I could also tell that he was tired. I slid my hand into his and led him upstairs. As we walked into my room, I looked over at my bed, thankful that it just so happened to be queen sized. "I'm sure it's better than the couch." I muttered, watching as he pulled off his jacket and kicked off his converse. I climbed into the spot I'd been in earlier, waiting as he climbed in beside me. He lay on his back, looking down at me with his hands laced behind his head. I curled up against his side, my head on his chest. I listened to him breathe for a little while, glancing up at him every now and then. Eventually when I looked up at him, I saw that he was asleep. I smiled to myself, and decided it would be best if I did the same.


	12. Fears and Fess Ups

As I woke up, I noticed the sunlight shining directly into my eyes. As I sat up, blinking to clear my sight, I looked over and saw Derek lying in my bed. Asleep. I blinked rapidly to make sure I wasn't dreaming. But no. He was real. 'And in my bed.' A mischievous voice said in my mind. Was it my own? Most likely. A smile attached itself to my face as I looked down at his peaceful, sleeping form. I was tempted to run my fingers through his freshly tousled hair, but not at the risk of waking him. I could tell that the sun had just barely risen over the horizon when it shined through my window pane. It reflected off his eye lashes, casting shadows over his cheeks. His eyes moved around under their lids, and I watched for a moment, wondering what he was dreaming about. I silently got out of bed, going into the bathroom. I splashed cool water on my face, drying off with a face cloth before returning to my room. He sat on the edge of the bed, awake now, looking out the window. "You're awake." I murmured, crawling onto the bed behind him. I came up beside him, sitting cross legged next to him. He glanced at me for a moment, before looking back out the window. "Yeah." He said calmly. I looked up at him, noticing he looked… well rested. I grinned to myself, feeling that it was somehow appropriate for the moment. He looked down at me, seeming confused. "What?" He asked. I felt playful- maybe it was because I woke up with a sexy alpha wolf in my bed- but I couldn't stop grinning. I tackled him back onto the pillows, settling above him. I sighed. "I don't know." I said after a moment. "I'm…" I felt myself begin to grin again. "I don't know." I muttered, looking off toward the floor for a moment. I leaned down and kissed him gently, moaning against his lips when he deepened the kiss and his hands pulled me against him by the small of my back. He trailed his hand down to the back of my thigh, rolling on the bed until we were in opposite positions. I arched my back against the length of his body. After a moment of heated heavy petting, and ragged breathing, we paused.

I looked up at him for a moment. 'We probably shouldn't' A voice in the back of my mind said. But god I wanted too. He seemed to get the message, because he rolled off of me. I stared up at the ceiling for a moment, regaining control of my breathing. I sat up and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. "Can I ask you something." He said, looking at me with genuine curiosity. I nodded, looking up at him. "How'd you manage to end up here in Beacon Hills?" I thought for a moment, sighing at the sad memory of my story. "My family- My mom, my dad, and my aunt- we were running from hunters. Heading up the border. They followed us though. It seemed like every time we found some place to stay, they would find us." I said, looking down at the rustled bed sheets in my hands. "One day, they found us, and we had no way out. We locked our selves inside the house, and that's when my parents called Louise. She was a family friend at the time. She'd stayed behind when we were on the run though… We were locked in the house for days, surrounded by hunters." I found myself gripping the bed sheets with an iron claw. "But there were these… tunnels under our house. And that's how Louise got in. My parents had me pack my things, and they told me to go with her. Leave through the tunnels." Tears threatened my eyes, and I bit them back. "I was 11." I muttered past the lump in my throat. I took a deep breath, looking back up at him. "That's how we ended up here." I said. I looked at him to see that he was watching me with a tight expression of shared pain in his features. I sighed. "I should probably start getting ready." I said, standing and walking to my dresser. But suddenly I was incapable of movement. I stood, looking at the floor. "Derek, if I lost you…" I began. I sighed a shuddering breath. I heard him get up, and felt his hand on my shoulder. He turned me around to face him. "I don't get it." Said, my voice breathy and sad. "I don't understand why I feel this way. My whole life has been spent guarded and protected. But then… then there's you and it's like I can't see anything else anymore and I'm scared, Derek." I was crying now. Hot tears poured over my cheeks in streams and rivers. "I'm terrified that I'll lose you. That, they'll find you, and they'll kill you and I don't know how to defend _either _of us from that. But I can't lose you. Not now." I said. I looked up at him, seeing a hard expression of determination on his face. Suddenly I was in his arms, shaking terribly. I buried my face against his chest, wrapping my arms around him. For a moment he was silent. "They aren't going to take me from you." He said, blood running in his voice. I ground my teeth together, praying that he was right.


	13. Moonlight and Crossbows

After a moment I sighed, looking up at him. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and watched as his eyes softened. There he went, opening up to me in ways that had seemed impossible the first time I'd met him. He'd been cold and calculating in an irritatingly sexual way. But it was like I'd managed to peel back the outer shell that made him so cold. He leaned down and kissed me, pulling my hips against him in what I assumed was a sort of knee- jerk reaction. The kiss itself though was soft and welcoming, but it undeniably made me ache for him. In every way, humanly and inhumanly possible. After a moment, I pulled back, and he leaned his forehead against mine. His breathing was hard, and washed gently over my face. "Tonight's the full moon. I'd better get ready." I murmured against his lips. "Most likely." He said. But we were both reluctant to move away from one another. Sometimes, it seemed as if we were magnets. I suppressed the urge to crawl back into bed and drag him along with me. There were lizard freaks to be taken care of, and plans to be drawn out by the end of the night. Besides, I would be late for school.

I turned and opened one of my drawers, looking for a top. "I'll see you on the edge of the woods by nine." I said. I glanced behind me to look at him over my shoulder. He nodded- he was sitting on the bed lacing up his converse. I smiled at him, turning back and grabbing a pair of black skinny jeans. When I turned back around, he had his leather jacket on, and was standing by the window. "Has it ever occurred to you to use the front door?" I asked. He blinked. "Does Louise know I spent the night?" He asked. "She might get the wrong idea. And believe me, I doubt either of us wants that after the last time she caught me in here." He said. I nodded silently. "Good point." I said. I moved over to him, leaning up and kissing him before he could argue. I gripped his shirt in one hand while the other snaked into his hair, pulling him against me. After a moment, he pulled back. I let out a shaky breath, having felt my knees grow weak. "I'll see you tonight." He said. I nodded, watching as he made his exit out my bedroom window.

I sighed, quickly getting changed and running a brush through my already tousled hair. I think sometimes I did it out of habit, because there seemed to be a lack of effect on my hair from the brush. But I grabbed my bag, and headed downstairs. "Hey Louise." I said, seeing her sitting at the table. She was eating what appeared to be toast and bacon, drinking what smelled like coffee. She held the vile wolfs bane in her hands, examining it. "What's this for?" She asked, a suspicious note in her voice. Oh, hell. I sighed, realizing that she wouldn't be happy when I told her what it was for. "We have a plan to catch the Kanima." Her head snapped up as she took a sip of her coffee. "Do you?" She asked, her voice high and questioning. "We've got it narrowed down to two suspects- Jackson, and a girl named Lydia. Tonight's the full moon- we're going to each of their houses, and were going to wait for the Kanima to shift. Depending on which one it is, we may be able to get an open shot and inject it with the wolfs bane." I explained. She blinked a few times, as if she were just waking up. "Are you, out of your mind!" She yelled, getting up from the table. "Not entirely." I said with a grin, having already expected the angry outburst. "Look, wolfs bane is the one thing we haven't tried. If it works, we could end this. Tonight." I said, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking into her eyes. "We have to try." I said. Her eyes softened for a moment. "I will not lose you." She said- eerily similar to what I said to Derek this morning. "You won't. Look if the wolfs bane fails, then we run and get the hell outta dodge. Okay?" I said. After a moment she sighed. "Be careful." She said, her voice dejected and irritated. I nodded, grabbing the vial of wolfs bane and the two syringes- sticking them in the outer pocket of my bag. I had a lack of hunger that morning, and decided on skipping breakfast.

I hurried to my car, and gunned it to the school, wishing for anything else to think about other than what was about to take place tonight. Truth be told, I could very well be responsible for the death of a lot of people. I sighed, looking out the windshield as the tall trees passed by in a dark green blur. When I arrived at the school, I noticed Stiles and Scott standing by the front entrance. "Crap." I muttered, realizing by the looks on their faces that they'd been waiting for me. I grabbed my bag and got out of the car, making my way over to them. "Stiles. Scott." I said, attempting to walk past them. But Stiles grabbed hold of my arm. I turned and glared at him, feeling my eyes shift to what I assumed due to my lack of a mirror was a feverish- gold. He blinked, suddenly fear in his eyes, as he let go. "I'll remember not to do that again." He said, taking a step back. I blinked, as my eyes began to shift back to their regular hazel color. "On a full moon you will." I muttered, heading inside. But even then, they followed me like a couple of puppies. "What's gonna happen tonight?" Scott asked, anger labeling his voice. I walked up to my locker and unlocked it, pulling it open to exchange my books. I sighed, knowing that there was no point in lying to him. If my heart skipped a beta, he would know it. Hell, _I_ would know it. "Look, last I checked you weren't apart of the pack. Why should I tell you." I said, closing my locker and crossing my arms over one another. "Because we both want the same thing." He said. I nodded. "And what would that be?" I asked sarcastically. "To keep everyone alive, and to find out how to stop this thing." I sighed, knowing that his points were valid and he wasn't lying.

"Look, we have a plan to catch the Kanima, okay?" I asked, moving down the hall. "You do? What is it?" He asked, excitement building in his voice. "Tonight's the full moon, right?" I glanced at him. "Yeah, so?" "Well, tonight, we're going to Lydia and Jackson's house in pairs, to see which of them it is. Once we know, we're going to try and incapacitate it." I explained. "Yeah, uh, last I checked, this thing didn't have any weaknesses." Stiles said. I rolled my eyes. "What's the one thing you haven't tried on it?" I asked. They were silent for a moment. "Wolfs bane." Scott said. I nodded. "Exactly." I said, pulling the purple vial from my bag to show them. "There's two syringes- one for each pair. If we can get an open shot, maybe it'll work." I said, putting the vial back in my bag. "Um, where did you get that?" Scott asked. "Yeah, and say you _don't _get an open shot, then what?" I sighed, rolling. "Well I got the wolfs bane from Deaton at the vet's office. And if it doesn't work, the general plan would be to run like hell." I said, before turning into English class before they could rattle off any more questions.

I made it through the day- just barely. I could already feel the tug of the full moon and while I'd had experience resisting the urge to kill everything living that was in the near vicinity, it didn't mean that there was no effect on me. Emotionally, I was a bombshell waiting to explode. If someone said the wrong thing at the wrong time, I would snap. No matter how much I didn't intend for it to happen. I sighed as I walked out the front entrance and headed to my car. I got in and threw my bag into the back, leaning my head back against the seat as I turned on the AC. I ran both of my hands through my hair before sitting back up. I nearly screamed when I saw Derek sitting next to me in the car. "Jesus Derek!" I yelled, backed up against the driver's side door. I only then realized that my panicked state had forced me to shift. I returned to my human state and watched him for a moment. "Would it kill you to knock on the window or something?" He suppressed a smile. "Sorry." He said, looking down for a moment to hide his grin. "What are you doing here? I thought we were going to meet by the woods at nine." I said. He nodded. "We are." He said. "So, you just decided to stop b and say hi?" I asked sarcastically. "No- look, what were doing is… dangerous." He began. "Look, Derek- do me a favor and stop right there. No one is going to die. Everyone is walking away from this. And the reason I'm so sure, is because I forbid, anyone from dying. Okay?" I said, looking up at him. He nodded, his lips pulled into a tight line of determination.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "You feel it too." He muttered, not having to explain what it was he was talking about. "Yeah. I feel it." I muttered. I blinked for a moment. "You were born a werewolf." He said matter of factly. I looked over at him. "How'd you know?" I asked. "Because, those who are born as werewolves have more control of it- more control over when they shift." He explained I nodded, glancing out the window to see that the parking lot was beginning to clear out. We seemed to be one of the last few there. I looked up at the sky and saw that it was on the verge of raining. "So, were exactly do you hide out when your not with me?" I asked, looking over at him. "I can show you." He said.

I stopped home first to drop off my bag- and Derek said I lived close by anyway. As I walked into the house, I saw Louise sitting at the kitchen table, a box set in front of her. "What's that?" I asked, as Derek and I moved into the kitchen. "This, my pup, is your new crossbow." She said. "A hunter's weapon?" Derek asked. Louise looked up at him. "Long distance. I figure with your advanced senses you should be pretty good at it too." She said, looking back at me. She opened it, and pulled back the bubble-wrap revealing the compound crossbow in the box, along with a quiver of arrows. I picked it up and examined it for a moment. "How much did this-" "Who can put a price on self preservation?" She asked. I looked up at her for a moment. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the quiver of arrows, and examined them too, before slinging the quiver over one shoulder. "Shall we?" I asked, glancing back at Derek. He nodded. "Where ya headed?" Louise asked. "Derek's lair." I said over my shoulder, having already started toward the door. "Hey- be careful." She called, as I walked out the front door.


	14. Training before the game

As we headed toward the forest, I notched an arrow in the bow, taking aim and firing at a tree. I hit it dead on, smiling at the results. "Looks like we might just have a level playing field with the hunters." I said, walking up to the tree and pulling the arrow from its bark. I notched the same arrow and aimed at a bird perched on a tree branch. But I sighed, shooting the arrow toward the branch next to is and scaring it away. The arrow had ended up knocking the branch straight from the tree. I reached down and grabbed the arrow, setting it back in the quiver. "Good aim." He said. I nodded, following his lead through the forest. Fifteen minutes later, and we reached a small ally- way across from what appeared to be a deserted road. As we crossed into the ally, I noticed the sounds of what seemed like fighting. "Damn it, Erica." He muttered. I looked up at him. "What?" I asked. He was silent, leading me down a small flight of stairs into the basement of a building. As we walked down the stairs, we walked into a spacious room, holding an old subway car. Lights hung from the ceiling, providing enough illumination to see that the entire place was old, and abandoned- minus the two fighting werewolves in the open floor space. Erica and Isaac had shifted, and were fighting each other tooth and nail. But after looking closely, I noticed that they were smiling. "They're sparring." I muttered, watching their lighting-fast movements.

"Erica! Isaac!" Derek yelled, getting their attention. They stopped dead, looking up at him. "What? We were just playing." Erica said. Isaac looked up at me and smiled. "Hey Selene!" He said matter of factly. For whatever reason, he seemed to be laughing on the inside, like it was some kind of private joke. I glanced up at Derek, who seemed to be fuming. 'What hell was going on?' I thought. Is it… territorial or something? Was Isaac trying to get at Derek through me? I rolled my eyes, running a hand through my hair and looking at the floor. Boyd leaned against a wall, a few feet away. Suddenly, Derek spoke, and I could hear a smile in his voice. "Fine- if your going to spar, why not spar with Selene?" He said. I looked up. "Why not? I think I'm up for round three." Isaac said. I blinked, setting the bow and quiver against the wall. I cracked my knuckles and my neck, stepping up to Isaac as Erica leaned against another set of stairs on the opposite wall. As he charged me like before, I front kicked him in the stomach, watching him fly backwards. He landed with a loud thud, huffing as the wind was knocked out of him. Suddenly Erica jumped on me, surprise attacking me from behind. I elbowed her in the stomach and felt her fall to the floor. I turned and watched Isaac get back up, trying to charge me again. I stepped to the side and close-lined him with the bridge of my arm, watching as he fell back, choking due to the fact that I most likely temporarily collapsed his trachea. I turned back on Erica as I heard her get to her feet, and knocked her out with a simple shot to the temple. I sighed looking over at Boyd. "You wanna go?" I asked, somewhat bored at my lack of trued competition. He shook his head, eyebrows raised as he watched his pack-mates writhe in pain. I sighed, looking down at my two latest victims, who lay trying to regain themselves. I walked back over to Derek, who stood against the wall, watching is betas with a close eye.

"How can we expect them to fight off the Kanima when they can't even fight of another werewolf?" He said into my ear. I looked up at him. "Simple- _if _they can get an open shot it, then we may have accomplished something. Otherwise, they run like hell. And even then, say it is Jackson, I'll be the one with the syringe. I'll have a better shot at injecting the Kanima with the wolfs bane." I said. "And to be fair, I've had quite a few training sessions when it comes to fighting. I mean, I beat you didn't I?" I said, looking up at him. "I let you win." He said matter of factly. Even then though, I heard just the slightest blip in his pulse. I smiled to myself, knowing he was lying. "Sure." I muttered, watching the rest of the pack momentarily.


	15. Like Whoa Aly and Aj ref

When nightfall came, we headed to the halfway point in the woods. As we reached the area, I looked up at the full moon, feeling it's gaze pounding down on my shoulders. "Alright." I said, looking at the rest of the pack. I set my bow and quiver against a tree before pulling out the wolfs bane and the two syringes. "What the hell is that?" Erica said outraged. I rolled my eyes, filling the syringes with the wolfs bane. "Look, once we find out who the Kanima is, we need to try and get an open shot at it." I said, watching each of their faces for reactions. "Wolfs bane is the one tactic that we haven't tried, right?" I asked, looking at them expectantly. "What if we can't inject it soon enough, and it shifts?" Isaac asked. "Then get the hell outta dodge." I said, handing Boyd a syringe. I kept one for myself and glanced over at Derek, who stood tense, leaning against a tree. His eyebrows came together in a sort of angry frown, and I knew he didn't agree with the plan. As the rest of the pack chatted about the strategies they planned on using, I walked over to Derek, stepping in front of him so he was forced to look at me. Instead, he turned his head in the other direction. "Derek." I said, looking up at his tall frame. He let out a breath, looking down at me. His eyes were hurt, and I felt a small piece of my heart breaking. It killed me to see him like that. In pain. "Do you know what they say about love?" I asked. He narrowed his eyes at me. "They say it knows no boundaries." I murmured, leaning up to look him in the eyes. He let out another breath, and suddenly I was engulfed in his scent. "I promise, I'll come back. We're _all, _coming back." I said, leaning up and kissing him. His hands slid down to my lower back, holding me against him for a moment. Finally, I pulled back, leaning my forehead against his for a brief second. I backed up enough to look him in the eye. "I keep my promises." I said.

He let go of me, and I turned to see Boyd and Isaac already heading to Lydia's house. Erica stood in the distance, watching carefully. I nodded, catching up to her. Every now and then, I glanced back and saw Derek watching us with careful eyes. Finally, when we were out of his ear shot, Erica spoke. "That was sweet." She said softly, and I looked over at her. "What?" I asked. She glanced at me from behind her hair. "What you said to him. I mean, for the most part, he's pretty closed off to the world. And he tries to hide the way he feels about you around the rest of us. But… he's different with you." She said. I blinked for a moment not sure what to say. Finally, I settled on silence, as we reached Jackson's house.

We crawled silently in through the window, and I glanced around the room for a moment. It was dark, but I could still see that his walls were labeled with posters of all star athletes. I glanced over at his sleeping form on the bed. He lay curled on his side, his head buried in the pillows. I watched for a moment, before I heard Erica take in a breath, making just the slightest form of a gasp. I looked over at her, and saw that she was looking up at the moon as it's light filtered in through the window, and landed directly on Jackson's face. I readied the syringe, my thumb resting on the plunger. I watched as suddenly, his eyes snapped open. He sat straight up, and locked eyes with me. I began to think maybe he'd just woken up. But then I noticed his eyes. They were reptilian. "Erica! It's him!" I yelled, looking over at her where she stood, terrified, but shifted. I charged him before he had a chance to move, shoving the needle into his neck. I pushed down on the plunger, waiting to see him fall still, and pass out. But instead, he let out a piercing, inhuman screech. I looked down at his hands, noticing that his finger nails had turned into claws. I ran, grabbing Erica by the arm and practically yanking her out the window.

We were sprinting now. I struggled to get my phone out of my pocket. I wrestled it into my hand, and made quick business of calling Derek. "It's Jackson!" I yelled into the phone. "Did you-" "It didn't work. The wolfs bane didn't work." I said, listening to an angry growl come through on the other end of the line. I hung up at we reached the halfway point. There he stood, angry and fuming with his eyes glaring red. Erica leaned against a tree to catch her breath as I hurried over to Derek. "We need to go get Boyd and Isaac, and we need to leave. Now." I said, watching his determined expression. He nodded once, glancing back at Erica. "C'mon." I said, watching as she regained herself. She nodded, following in hot pursuit as we took off toward Lydia's house.

On the way, Derek called Isaac and told him to wait outside for us. When we got there, they stood just under Lydia's bedroom window. "We need to go. Now. If this Jackson pick's up our scent before we can lose him then we're screwed." I said, glancing between Boyd and Isaac. I noticed Isaac's eyes were wide, and he made it a point to look me up and down. Something was off about him. I narrowed my eyes at him and let out a low growl. His eyebrows came together in a frown as I turned on my heel, following Derek back toward the hide-out.

Half way back it had begun to rain, and by the time we arrived, we were all soaked through and through. We walked into the basement, Erica and I wringing out our hair in similar fashions. I glanced over at Isaac, who shook his head wildly back and forth like a wet dog. I rolled my eyes, looking over at Derek, who stood against the wall, a look of concentration in his eyes. Just then his gaze met mine, and he seemed to understand, because he nodded to the side, gesturing for me to meet him in the subway car. I walked through the entrance, leaving Erica Boyd and Isaac to talk amongst themselves. "What is it?" I asked, looking up at him where he stood tall in front of me. His wet shirt clung to his muscles, exaggerating them under the fabric. His hair stuck up more than usual, in odd places until he ran his hand through it. "The wolfs bane was the one thing that we hadn't tried, and it didn't work." He said, anger labeling his voice. I sighed, the hairs on the outer edges of my arms standing on edge. "Look, I'll talk to Deaton tomorrow. See if he has any ideas about what we can do." He clenched his jaw. "What we can do is kill it." I muttered. "Look, this isn't Jackson's fault. He didn't intend for this to happen. But in a way, he is _still_Jackson. We can't kill him." I said. He refused to meet my eyes, and I moved closer, until I was directly in front of him. Finally he looked down at me. "Your shivering." He said simply, obviously ready to change the subject. I hadn't actually realized I was cold until he said something. I blinked, watching as he lead me back out the end of the car and into a small room that held a bed, a small chest, a nightstand, and a lamp. He flicked on the light and opened the chest at the end of the bed, grabbing me a large, heavy looking blanket. "Thanks." I said, taking the blanket from him. "What about them?" I asked, glancing back at Erica, Isaac, and Boyd. "Well, Boyd and Erica go home regularly." He said, kneeling by the chest as he rummaged around in it for something. I pulled the blanket around myself, and watched him carefully as he spoke. "Isaac tends to stay in the subway car for the most part." He said, pulling a black T-shirt from the chest before shutting it. I looked up at him as he pulled off his soaking wet T-shirt, exposing his toned abdomen, and his broad chest and shoulders. On impulse, I bit my bottom lip, and my heart began pounding my chest at the very side of him. I blamed it on the full moon. Everything felt amplified by it's power tonight- and that included lust.

He seemed to have noticed the sound of my heart and the obvious expression on my face, because he glanced behind me, listening for a moment and remaining shirtless. "Erica and Boyd left. Isaac… went with Erica." He said, glancing down at me. I blinked, glancing behind me to see that the circle of werewolves that had originally gathered outside the car was dispersed. Just then I heard the sound of thunder in the distance. "Damn storm." I muttered to myself. "Hey, is it okay if I stay here tonight?" I asked. He nodded, his eyes intense and his gaze boring into mine. Taking a moment for myself in a corner of the room, I sent a quick text to Louise, letting her know I would be here, before shutting off my phone. Tomorrow was Saturday, so I had nothing to worry about when it came to getting up early in the morning. I looked up at Derek, who still stood shirtless before me, looking like some sort of sex god. Suddenly, I felt myself blushing furiously as heat rose in my cheeks. My body began tingling in places god knows it shouldn't. I could exactly tell what it was I was feeling. Nervous? Most likely. Anticipation? Definitely. The sensation that my heart would suddenly explode? Oh, yeah.


	16. Morning revelations

Before I'd realized what had happened, I stood directly in front of him, waiting for him to make a move. He leaned down and separated my lips with his, electricity running through my body at the skin-to-skin contact. I moaned against his mouth as he pulled my body against him by the small of my back. I could feel _every _inch of him against me, as I let my hand trail down to his belt buckle and pull him closer against me. His hands trailed down, over my butt and down to my thighs as he lifted me up in his arms. Instantly I wrapped my legs around his waist, as he carried me over to the bed. He laid down, hovering slightly over me as we lay on the bed. My blood rushed in my head, making me deliciously warm and dizzy- everything fuzzy on around the edges. I bit his bottom lip, before my lips melted back against his. I couldn't hold back the moan that passed my lips at the feel of his hands sliding over my ribs,- just under the bottom hem of my bra- and around to my back side. They slid under my shirt, warm and inviting as he pulled my back toward his chest, his lips moving down from mine to the hollow of my throat. He slowly made his way down to my cleavage, one of his hands brushing against my naval. Just as his hands had begun to push up the bottom hem of my shirt, I noted the sound of the basement door opening and closing, along with Isaac's scent. I sighed, as he realized that Isaac was here, sitting up on the bed. I sat up slowly, listening to the sound of Isaac's footsteps. He knocked on the door before entering. "Hi." He said simply, looking down for a moment. "I thought you'd gone to Erica's?" I asked gently, seeing that something was obviously wrong. But he was obviously reluctant to talk about it. "Na, I was just walking her home. Make sure nothing happened in case Jackson decided to make an appearance." He explained. I nodded, as realization hit him about what he just walked in on. "I'll, be in the subway car." He said, quickly shutting the door behind him. I sighed, falling back onto the bed for a moment. I ran a hand through my hair. Should I stay a virgin for now- well obviously. But that was only the overly logical part of my brain talking. The other part that was under the spell of the full moon was saying screw you to the logical part of my brain. But then there was my heart- my heart that was hopelessly in love with Derek. No matter what the logical part of my brain said was right or wrong. I glanced over at the floor where the blanket lay in a heap- I had dropped it when we started making out. I grinned to myself for a moment, gently touching my bottom lip where his touch still burned in my skin. I got up to get the blanket, spreading it out over the comforter. "Shall we?" I ask, crawling under the sheets. He follows my lead, and I curl up with my head against his chest, his arms wrapped around me protectively.

I woke up on my own for once. Not to the blinding light of the sun from my window. Not because Louise had to get me up. Not eve due to my phone alarm. I sat up slightly, looking around and remembering that I was in Derek's room. Alone with him. I glanced down at him. Somehow in the middle of the night, we'd ended up in the spooning position, his arm hugging me around my waist. I watched his sleeping face- for once he seemed at peace. Calm. It was a rare moment for him, I was sure. But slowly, he stirred, and then his eyes fluttered open. He was awake. "Hi." I murmured, looking down on him as he glanced up at me from under his long eyelashes. He sat up, leaning on his arm. Suddenly his face was less than an inch from mine, and his scent was wrapping around me in darkly inviting spindles. I leaned forward, my lips meeting his and causing an apparently mutual electric shock. He wound his fingers in my hair, pulling me closer to him. His eyelashes brushed against the side of my cheek as I leaned in, letting myself fall under whatever spell he had set upon me.

I let one hand trail up from his arm to his shoulder, around to the nape of his neck where my fingers worked into his soft, night black hair. Suddenly I was up in the air with my legs around his waist, -kind of like last night- except I was pushed between a wall, and Derek's hard body. Slowly, I let my legs drop to the floor as we stood there, locked in a kiss. His hands roamed over to the small of my back, pulling me against him. I hooked a finger inside his belt and pulled him to me provocatively, as he leaned his forehead against mine for a moment. His breath rushed over my skin, cool and warm all at the same time. I leaned up for a moment, gently biting his bottom lip before releasing it. Every part of me was tingling with a building, -blinding- fire, set from the simple fact that he was pressed _completely _against me. I _wanted_ him. Now, more than ever. I undid one of the buttons at the bottom of my plaid button-up shirt, watching his expression. His eyes were intense with his piercing gaze as he watched me carefully. I knew we couldn't…- it's just… IT, just couldn't happen. But… who was to say we couldn't come close to it?

His hand trailed to the barely exposed skin of my stomach, making lazy circles there with his thumb- around and over the surface of my naval. I leaned up and kissed him gently, tasting his lips as he pressed his hips against mine, suggesting that he understood my innuendo. It was a painful kind of pleasure to feel, knowing that while we wouldn't _actually _do what we both wanted to, this right here felt almost just as good. I bent my knee slightly, letting my leg slide in between his as they became tangled with one another. I could just barely make out the low sound of a primal, hungry growl coming from Derek's chest. A moment later we parted for a breath, both of us breathing raggedly. I glanced up at him where he leaned his forehead against mine, and saw that his eyes were glowing an icy shade of blue, no doubt due to his wolf-side. He noticed me looking at him, and met my gaze for a moment. He blinked, looking down at me. I leaned up and kissed the side of his jaw, leading a gentle trail up to the space just beneath his ear. I drew in a breath as his hand moved up slightly from it's previous position against my naval. "Hmmm. God I want you." I murmured into his ear, pulling back to see into his eyes. His expression was one of absolute and unconditional lust. My entire body went rigid as one of his hands grazed the inside of my thigh over the fabric of my jeans.

His lips met the hollow of my throat, gentle and warm. His tongue just barely skimmed the skin there, and I couldn't help the moan that raced from my lips as I let my head fall to the side and I arched my back against him. I could feel my body become tight with heat and tension as his hands pushed against the hem of my shirt. Only then- in our highest moment of sexual tension- did I hear the footsteps. Isaac's footsteps most likely. I sighed at the feeling of his lips moving a steady trail down to my half exposed cleavage. But the footsteps seemed hell bent on gathering my attention. I knew he heard them too, when he stopped, standing up straight and glancing over at the door. "Looks like we aren't the only ones who are awake." I muttered, looking up at him. He exhaled in response- his lips set in a tight line. "C'mon." He said, heading for the door. I grabbed his wrist, pulling him to me one last time. I leaned up and kissed him, his hands pulling me against him for the moment- until we parted. He walked over to the door and turned the knob, holding it open for me as I walked into the room. Isaac stood against the wall, watching as Erica walked down the stairs with Boyd following close behind. I glanced over at Isaac, who's eyebrows came together in a partial frown. His lips were set in a tight line and his eyes were steely, and cold. Uh-oh.

I headed over to the wall and picked up my bow-which I had picked up on the way to Lydia's from the forest point in the woods last night. Maybe I should have taken it with me to Jackson's house. But then again, killing him wasn't apart of the plan. And unless that was the goal, it wouldn't have been any use to me. I set it back against the wall after a moment of silence between all of us. Finally I looked up at them as Erica and Boyd chatted away in a corner of the room. I looked over at Isaac, who watched them intently. Derek had disappeared somewhere inside the subway car. "I'm gonna go home and change. Then I'm gonna go talk to Deaton." I said, as Erica and Boyd looked up at me. "I'll go with you." Isaac said, and I turned to look at him. "Make sure Jackson doesn't show up." He explained. Suddenly there was a desperate look in his eyes, and I knew he need to talk to me about something. I nodded, leading the way up the steps.

As we started to walk toward my house, I glanced over at Isaac, who walked in pace with me looking at the sidewalk and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked uncomfortable for a moment, and then he spoke. "Can I tell you something?" He said. "Shoot." I said, watching as he looked up at me. "I uh… kinda like, Erica." He said. I blinked, having not seen this coming at all. "Oh. Okay…" I said, waiting for him to continue. "I was wondering… well, I don't exactly know how to… talk to her. I mean, with humans it's different. You can sense how they feel. It's easy. But Erica, she's like us. I can't read her the way I can a human." He said. I blinked for a moment. "Why did you come to me about this? Why not talk to Derek? He is the alpha…" He shook his head. "Derek is… I don't know. I don't think he would get what I'm going through." He said. "I figure, it was better to ask another girl… you'd know what to say." He said. I took a deep breath at the thought, thinking for a moment. "Does she know how you feel?" I asked. He shook his head, silent for a moment before looking back at the ground. "Okay. Well… look for opportunity. When you two are alone, talk to her." I said. "I don't mean, come straight out and say how you feel. But get her to open up to you." I said. His eyebrows came together for half a second in a sort of frown as he listened to what I told him. "Believe me- werewolf or not it works." I said. He nodded, rubbing his hands together momentarily. "Thanks." He said, looking up at me.


	17. Empty Clinics and First Aid

As we reached my house, I ran inside to find Louise sitting at the kitchen counter, drinking coffee and eating a bagel. She was in her work clothes too. She looked up when I entered, her face still and expressionless. "Hey." I said, walking over to her. She blinked, forcing a smile. But her heart skipped a beat, and I knew she wasn't herself.  
"What's wrong?" I asked, watching as she took a sip of her coffee. "I got your text." She murmured, looking down for a moment. I waited for her to elaborate. Finally she sighed and looked up at me. "Look, you being… alone with Derek is a bad idea-" She began, and suddenly I understood what she was talking about. "We weren't alone." I interrupted, watching as she stopped dead. "Isaac was there too." I explained, and suddenly her expression lightened. "Oh… Okay then. Good." She said. "So why are you in your work clothes?" I asked. She looked up at me. "Oh, one of the staff took a personal day but it's been kind of busy lately so they asked if I could come in." I nodded. "Well, I'm gonna go change." I said, backing away for a moment before sprinting up to my room. I changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a tank top, grabbing my leather jacket from my closet and pulling it around my shoulders before heading back out to where Isaac stood waiting for me in the driveway. "C'mon- we'll take my car." I said, leading him over to it and climbing into the driver's seat. He sat in the passenger's side as I sped off toward Deaton's clinic.

When we arrived, I hopped out of the car with Isaac in hot pursuit. "So, what exactly are you going to do?" He asked. "I'm gonna ask him if he knows anything that might help us incapacitate Jackson long enough to capture him." I said matter-of-factly. "You aren't going to hurt him are you? I mean, for one he seems like a decent guy, and two: he's sorta the only vet we have in town." I rolled my eyes. "I can be persuasive without killing the man, Isaac." I said, tapping on the glass of the front door. I waited for an answer, and that was when I noticed that all the lights were off. "Hmmm…" I hummed, peering through the reflection on the glass. "Maybe he's not there." Isaac said, stepping up to the glass next to me. Only then did I notice the sharp smell of wolfs bane. I frowned, turning in time to see a man standing with a bow an arrow pointed at us. "Isaac!" I yelled, pushing him out of the way as he released the arrow. It flew through the air, and for a moment I was sure he'd missed. But then there was the agonizing pain. Incredible, blinding, searing, pain. It shot through my entire body on such a scale I wasn't even sure where the arrow had landed. But suddenly I was on the ground, my vision blurring as I tried desperately to stay conscious. I lay there, watching as Isaac ambushed the hunter, tackling him to the ground. "Isaac… don't…" I muttered, losing my strength. But I prayed he heard me. The last thing we needed was more bloodshed. I watched as he knocked the guy unconscious, before making his way over to me. He lifted me easily into his arms, and started toward my car. Only then did I notice that the arrow had landed in my abdomen. I felt a white hot pain shoot through me, just as I blacked out.

I woke up in Derek's bed to a skull splitting migraine, and a blinding pain in my stomach. It wasn't the typical kind of stomach ache you might get from bad sushi- this was a searing, white hot agony. I sat up against the pillows, gradually working my way into a full sitting position. I looked around the room for a moment, just as Isaac and Derek walked in. Derek sat down next to me, somehow managing to look both sympathetic, and like he could rip someone's head off at any second. I had never seen this kind of expression on his face- sure I'd seen him mad- but nothing like this. His eyes were rimmed with red- their inner pupils burning green, blue, and silver all at once. It was disorienting to watch. But his eyes never seemed to leave mine as he looked down at me from where he sat. "You're awake." Isaac murmured. I could see the guilty look written in his eyes. I nodded. "Selene I'm-" "Isaac-don't. You know this isn't your fault. The hunter came out of no where. And besides- it's not the first time I've been shot with an arrow." I said, vaguely remembering the night in the woods I was shot by the hunter and Derek ended up taking me home while I was passed out.

"If I'd seen him before hand you wouldn't be hurt right now." Isaac argued, and I sighed, knowing that it was going to be difficult to change his perspective of the situation. I ran a hand through my hair, wincing at the pain that shot through my abdomen. "Look it's not your job to protect me. I'm a big girl Isaac. Besides- I'll be healed by tomorrow." I said with a shrug. I glanced up at Derek for a moment to see that his whole body was rigid with burning anger. "I should go back and rip his head off…" He muttered. I shook my head. "No. Look, more bloodshed is the last thing we need right now. If this goes on any further, it's going to turn into a full on war. Things will get bloody, and innocent people are bound to get caught in the cross hairs. Good, decent people, are going to die. We can't let that happen and you know it." I said. He looked down at me then, turning his searing gaze on me. And for a minute, I was afraid of the look in his eyes. It was purely animalistic, and scared the hell outta the part of me that was human. I felt my heart skip a beat, but I did my best to keep up my poker face. But I could see that his attentive ears caught the blip in my pulse, because suddenly his gaze softened, and he was obviously apologetic. He let out a breath, his lips set in a tight line at his own self frustration.

I let my fingers twine with his, feeling the heat from his body radiate into me. His thumb made lazy circles on the back of my hand. Isaac left the room, closing the door behind him. Derek pulled the covers down slightly, lifting my shirt to look at the gauze. It was soaked with a golf-ball sized circle of blood. "I'll be fine." I said, looking up at him. His eyes were calmer now, watching me. "You don't remember, do you?" He asked. I narrowed my eyes in a frown as I looked at him. "Remember what?" I asked. He sighed. "When I took out the arrow, you woke up. The tip was coated with some sort of solution- a compound of wolfs-bane, and something else. But I had to push the poison out…" His voice trailed off and his eyes became hazy as he was taken back to the memory. "You screamed. A lot." He said, looking down at our clasped hands. I gave his a squeeze, and his eyes met mine. "Hey- I'm okay." I said firmly, letting my hand brush against his jaw line. "Really. I'll be better than new by tomorrow." I said. But the rigid look in his eyes and the tense aura that radiated from him remained. I leaned up and kissed him for a moment, feeling his relax slightly. "I'll be okay, Derek. Really." I said when we parted, leaning my forehead against his. He nodded slightly and seemed to be a bit more rational now. I leaned forward, letting my lips melt back against his. After a long, breathtaking moment, I pulled back just enough to look at him. "Thank you." I murmured against his lips, which were just out of reach. "For, taking care of me." I explained, sensing his next question. He simply cupped the sides of my face in his hands and kissed me once more.


	18. Missing Pack Mates

I leaned back, pulling him onto me as I rested against the pillows. I could feel the heat beginning to build just under my skin, and for a moment, I thought I might pass out. After a while though, he pulled back slightly. "You need to rest." He said. I sighed against his lips, drawing him near once more. I kissed him fiercely before letting him go, and now he seemed reluctant to move. I suppressed the urge to laugh at the thought- _I _did that to him. I wound my fingers into his hair, looking up at him. "Has anyone ever told you you have beautiful eyes?" I asked, watching as a smile spread across his face. It was honest, and met his eyes truthfully. He rolled his eyes at me. "Sleep. Rest. I'm going to go talk to Deaton-" My heart skipped a beat at his words. "Actually… will you stay with me?" I asked. He hesitated for a moment before nodding. "I don't want anyone going back there just yet. We don't know if the hunters are still there." I explained. He nodded. I sighed, turning on my side so that I was facing him. He sat up, looking down at me. I closed my eyes as I felt him move a piece of my hair away from my face. Eventually, I fell asleep.

I woke up to find that I was alone. The room was dark due to it's lack of windows, as I sat up. I was feeling better compared to earlier. I got up and tested my balance to see that it was decent. I walked to the door and pulled it open to see Isaac standing against the wall talking to Erica. Boyd sat alone on the stairs, only looking up when I walked into the room. "Where's Derek?" I asked, not bothering to interrupt Isaac and Erica's conversation. "He went to Deaton's." He said. I suppressed the growl that threatened to rise in my throat. God damn it Derek! I sighed, pulling my phone out of my pocket and calling him. It went to voicemail. "Damn it." I muttered, flying past Boyd and heading up the stairs. I found my car parked a little ways from the alley, and sped over to Deaton's. If the hunters touched him, things were about to get bloody.

As I parked the car, I got out and saw that Derek stood in front of the door to the clinic. I walked up to him, spinning him around to face me before he had a chance to argue. "What the hell?" I yelled, looking up at him. "I needed to see if the doctor was here or not." He said defensively. I ground my teeth together angrily. "For god's sakes I thought you were dead!" I shouted, biting back the tears that welled at the thought. "I thought the Argents were still here- I thought they might have killed you." I said. "Look we need some kind of weapon against Jackson-" "Yes, but not at the expense at losing you!" I screamed. "I am not the only one that needs you! You have a pack to watch! If you got killed…" I couldn't take it any more. I felt like my head was going to explode. Suddenly he grabbed me by the shoulders. "I'm sorry." He said, looking down at me. A moment later all of my anger melted away and was replaced by the relief that he was still alive. I let him pull me into an embrace, listening for a moment to nothing other than the sound of his beating heart. "Don't scare me like that." I said, angrily wiping away the single tear that fell onto my cheek. "We can't afford to lose you. Not now. Not in the middle of all this." I said. I looked up at him and he nodded down at me, his lips set in a tight line of what could only be described as pure determination. "C'mon- we need to go. We can't be too sure that we're alone. " I said. He nodded, following me toward my car. "You walked here?" I asked, getting into the driver's seat. He nodded, joining me in the passenger's seat. "If the hunters were still here, I could lose them through the forest on foot." He explained. "Hmm." I said, starting the car and heading back toward the basement.

When we got there, I noticed that Boyd was the only one left. "Where are Isaac and Erica?" I asked, walking down the stairs. He sat on the ground leaning against the subway car. "They went out for lunch or something." He said, looking bored as he went back to playing some sort of game on his phone. "I'm going to call Isaac. I think we need to talk about how we're going to take care of Jackson." Derek said. I nodded, watching as he pulled out his phone and dialed her number. After a moment, he hung up. "No answer." He said. He tried what I assumed was Isaac's number. After a moment, he hung up again. "Isaac isn't answering either." He said. Oh, hell. This can't be good. "Did they say where they were going?" I asked, looking over at Boyd, who had stood up upon hearing that both Isaac and Erica had yet to answer their phones. His expression was worried. "No. They just said they'd be back later." He explained. I cursed under my breath. "C'mon." I said to Derek. "We need to go find them. " He nodded. "Should I come with?" Boyd asked. "No- we need you to stay here if they come back." Derek said, as we headed up the stairs. I followed their sent toward the woods, and began following the pattern I could only assume was the mixture of their scents. As we made headway, the scent became stronger and stronger.

Finally, we reached an open wooded area, with a small lake and few fallen trees. Their trail ended here. I looked around for a moment, searching for them. "Do you see them?" I asked, glancing at Derek. He shook his head. As we walked around the edge of the lake, I noticed the sound of what seemed like crying. As we rounded a small bend, I spotted them. They were tied to trees, both with duck tape over their mouths. Tears tinted black from mascara ran down Erica's cheeks. And that was when I noticed it- the sharp smell of wolfs-bane. "Get down!" I yelled, as Derek and I simultaneously fell to the dirt. Arrows flew over our heads, and two hunters stepped out from behind the trees. With inhuman speed, I sprinted forward, moving off the side and taking one captive. I held my claws to his throat, roaring at the other hunter, who looked suddenly terrified. "Drop the weapons." The man hesitated. "Now!" I yelled, not recognizing my voice as my own. He let his bow and quiver of arrows fall to the ground. I nodded, pressing my claws into his partner's skin- just over his corroded artery. "Now listen very closely- I know you have a knife on you. Your going to cut them down." I said, nodding toward Isaac and Erica. "And your going to tell your little coward of a master, that the next time he attacks one of our own, he'll be identifying a body. The Kanima is our worst problem. Did you get all that?" I asked, watching as he nodded, moving over toward Isaac and Erica. He pulled a knife from his belt and cut down first Isaac and then Erica. I waited until they were behind me. I "clawed" my other hand, and cut into the man's arm- not enough for him to bleed out but enough for him to need medical attention. I forcefully pushed the hunter into his friend, knocking the both of them down at once. Then the rest of us moved like bats outta hell.

Once we were sure we weren't being followed, we stopped for air. "Are you okay?" I asked, turning back to look Erica and Isaac. They both nodded, and I glanced over at Derek then. He was fuming, his eyes red and glowing. I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. "C'mon." I said, leading the way back to the abandoned basement. When we arrived, Boyd quickly made his way over to us, a surprised look on his face. "What the-" "Hunters." I said, cutting his off. He narrowed his eyes, looking frustrated. We all walked down the stairs, Erica and Isaac immediately making their way into the subway car- to rest I assume.


	19. The Plan

Boyd followed them, asking what happened. I sighed, leaning against the wall and sliding into a sitting position. I pulled my legs up to my chest and ran a hand through my hair. Derek sat down next to me for a moment. "Do you think the hunters are why Deaton wasn't at the clinic today?" I asked, looking over at him. He bit his bottom lip as he thought the idea over. "Maybe." He finally answered. Which only left the both of us unsure of… just about everything.

I tipped my head against the wall, letting out a sigh. I heard the basement door open and close. Derek and I both stood, shifted and ready to fight in case those hunters were actually stupid enough to follow us here. But it was just Scott. I sighed, letting myself return to normal and watching as Derek did the same. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "Look, I talked to Deaton this morning-" "Really? Because we haven't been able to find him anywhere!" I said angrily. He looked slightly hurt for a moment. "He was in at like 5 this morning. He left early." He said. I ground my teeth together, letting out a breath and running a hand through my hair. "Look, Derek-" He began, walking the rest of the way down the stairs. "Deaton told me about something he thinks might help." I narrowed my eyes at the thought. "How'd he know the wolfs bane didn't work?" I asked. "Because it tried to attack him last night while I was there." Scott said. "It's this thing called mountain ash- he says it can be used as a barrier. He said that once the perimeter is made, supernatural beings like werewolves can't pass to the other side of the line." He explained.

"And he just forgot to mention this when I asked him for the wolfs bane?" I asked. "Well- he said he knew it worked on werewolves, but he wasn't sure it would work on the Kanima until last night- when it tried attacking us at the clinic. We managed to put up a barrier around the clinic before it could get in." He explained. Suddenly it seemed as if light dawned on his darkly haired head. "You know who the Kanima is." He stated, obviously not making a question of it. I bit my bottom lip. "Who is it?" He asked, his gaze moving from me to Derek and back again. I was reluctant to tell him what we knew- while he seemed to have good intentions, I didn't really know that much about him. I wasn't sure how much I could trust him. But looking up at Derek, he nodded down at me. And him- him, I trusted. I looked over at Scott. "It's Jackson, Scott. Jackson's the Kanima." His jaw clenched, and while he seemed to be a bit on the less surprised side, the truth seemed to make him angry. He nodded, looking away for a moment. While I got the sense he and Jackson had never exactly been brotherly, I could understand that he didn't want to see him get slaughtered by Allison's psychotic family. "Look, if we can trap him in a circle of mountain ash, maybe we can help him." Scott said. I looked up at Derek. "We need to lead him here." I said. "It's the only way we can trap him without anyone getting killed." His lips were set in a tight line, and for a moment I could see the storm forming behind his eyes at the thought of having Jackson here in our last safe-haven. "Not here." He finally said. "The house in the woods." He said, looking over at Scott. Scott looked up at him and nodded. What house?

A half an hour later, and we had a plan. Scott had gone to go find Jackson, while Derek decided on showing me what house exactly he was talking about. Once Scott found Jackson, it was going to be my job to lead him to the house. The ash itself was poisonous to us wolves- which is where Stiles comes in. He was the one who had to pour the circle around Jackson. Hopefully before he shifted. "So, why is this house abandoned?" I asked, as we trudged through the woods on foot, moving around trees and over logs. "Remember how you read about the fire that killed my family?" Derek asked, looking down at the leaf scattered ground. "Yeah." I said, avoiding a fallen oak tree. "Well after the fire, nobody claimed the house, and it was never taken down." He said. Just then, we reached a clearing- and just then, I understood the pure meaning of tragedy. I gazed up at the charred, gutted remnants of Derek's old house. It was like I could hear the screams wailing from it's open windows, and I could picture the sight of the neon orange flames licking up the sides of the house, destroying everything in it's path. I was nearly engulfed in the smell of old smoke that remained forever burned into the wood of the unsteady house. "This is where it happened." I murmured, gazing up at the horrific memory that-while it didn't belong to me- made me sick to my stomach.

Derek led me inside, through the front door and to the overwhelming smell of burnt flesh and charred oak. I nearly choked, taking breaths through my mouth until I was used to the scent. A long, narrow staircase extended upward, ascending to what my guess would have been the bed rooms. To the left was a large entryway into a small sitting room. It held nothing more than a few charred seats, and two not-so-bad couches. Had the fire never happened, it would have been a beautiful home- I'm positive. I let out a shaky breath, touching the walls. That's when I heard the screams. It seemed as if the walls had held onto the memory of the deaths in the house, because I heard the earth-shattering skull splitting screams of the ones who were trapped in here- and I heard them loud and clear. I abruptly ended the tragic moment- yanking back my hand. It was cruel, and terrible, and I desperately had to fight back the tears that sprang to my eyes. I heard Derek's angry voice in the recesses of my mind. "This is where they all burned."


	20. Realization of the Truth

When Derek and I got back to the basement of the abandoned building, Scott was already waiting for us. "He's at the field-practicing." He said, as Derek and I descended to staircase. I nodded, looking up at Derek. "So I'll lead him to the house." I glanced over at Scott. "Make sure Stiles is waiting for us." I said to him. He nodded, pulling out his cell phone to call him. I looked back up at Derek. His lips were set in a tight line and he seemed reluctant to let me go. "I'll be careful." I murmured, as he leaned down and wrapped his arms around my waist. "If he touches you I swear-" I shook my head. "Just kiss me." I murmured, letting my fingers twist into his midnight colored hair to pull him to me. I felt his lips moving against mine, and his hands roam over the skin of my back, just under my tank top. I kissed him back heatedly, gripping the bottom of his shirt in my fist. When I pulled back and looked up at him, I bit my bottom lip. "See now I have to come back- or else how could I do that any more?" I said with a grin. I could see him trying to hold back a grin. I leaned up and kissed him swiftly. I was about to pull back when he tangled his hand into my hair, and pulled me against him by the small of my back.

Finally we parted. I turned around to see Scott facing us, looking at the floor. "Kay." I said. "I'll be waiting in the house." Derek said. I glanced at him with a single nod. As we headed to ground level, Derek went in one direction, while Scott and I went in the other. As we walked toward the school, we both stayed silent for a moment. "You know… I think you're the only one he's been close too in a while." Scott said. I looked up at him. "The only one he's trusted since the fire." He said. I rolled my lips for a minute. "I'm… I'm not gonna hurt him." I said. He looked up at me with a nod. "You know, he may not be the best alpha but… I don't think he's really trying to hurt anyone." He said. "I know that." I said, looking up at him. "All he wants is to stop Jackson." I said.

We reached the school then. "Okay. Wait at the house with Derek." I said. "We're gonna need as much supernatural strength as possible to stop him." I said. He nodded, moving quickly through the woods. I stood on the edge of the woods behind the bleachers, watching Jackson as he repeatedly tossed the balls into the net. I moved forward, standing by the bleachers. Eventually, he glanced over at me, confusing labeling his features. "Hey." He called. Just then I walked back toward the woods, listening to his footsteps as he followed me. Good. He was going to fall right into my spider's nest. When I reached the house, I noticed Derek's scent- along with Stiles and Scott. They were all here. Good. I walked inside, and watched from one of the broken windows, as Jackson entered the clearing. Game on.

He walked toward the house a little ways. "Hey!" He yelled. I got down just under the window and listened. His footsteps got louder and louder until I heard him walk up the steps and onto the porch. I moved quickly, getting behind one of the couches in the old sitting room. I watched as he walked inside, looking around. "Hello?" He called, his heartbeat picking up. He seemed nervous now. I watched as he walked further into the house. Just then the door closed and Stiles stepped out from behind it. He cradled a giant trash bag full of what I assumed was the mountain ash. He let it pour from the bag, trapping Jackson in a small, personal sized circle of it. I stood from behind the couch and walked toward Jackson, stopping outside the circle. His eyes were wild and confused. "What the hell are you doing!" He yelled, as Scott and Derek came down the stairs. So that's where they'd been hiding. "Stopping you from killing anyone else." Derek said in a dark voice, coming to stand at my side. Jackson watched all of us, seeming terrified when his eyes stopped at Derek. "I haven't-" "Think, Jackson. About all those times you blacked out. All the lost time." Derek said, moving toward him. "Think about it. What do you think happened?" Suddenly recognition registered in Jackson's eyes. He looked down at himself, his expression hardened and terrified. He knew. He knew, what he had done.


	21. Conversations with the Kanima

"Can it… Can I… be fixed?" He asked, looking up at us all with a horrified expression. I glanced at Derek first, before meeting eyes with Scott. "We don't know." Scott said, looking back at Jackson, who-by the expression and the fear in his eyes- looked as if someone had just shot him in the stomach. After a moment his jaw clenched and he nodded once. I could see the effort it took for him to bite back the pain. It was written all over his face. I bit my lip and looked around the room. Stiles seemed scared out of his wits which- in all fairness, was understandable. He was standing in a room full of supernatural creatures that-were we to all suddenly go rogue- he'd wouldn't have the slightest fighting chance against. Scott on the other hand, owned an expression of pure conviction; strength, and an air of power. I knew by the look that sprang from his eyes that he was determined to fix this one way or another. I looked at Derek and saw a combination of pity and sympathy in his features. I don't think he wanted this to happen to Jackson. Why would he? I knew the thought of this being his fault made it worse for him. I could just barely see the guilt hidden behind the sympathy in his eyes.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. I felt sorry for Jackson. He never wanted this. That much I knew indefinitely. He was scared, and alone. Actually, no. I mean, in a way he wasn't exactly alone. Scott was here. Stiles was here. Hell Derek and I were both here. And I barely knew him. But… he didn't deserve this. No one did. And it wasn't fair that he was made to be someone's guard dog through some kind of psychic bond that he never signed up for. Once we figured out who it was that was controlling him- we were going to end them. We were going to make sure no else got hurt. Not at their hand, and not at Jackson's. "Derek, Selene?" Scott gestured to us, pulling Stiles along toward the hall. We followed them and waited for Scott to explain needing our presence.

"Look, I think here is the best place to keep him for now." Scott said. "Yeah- Scott's right. It's the first time we've been able to get the jump on him. Ever." Stiles added. I looked up at Derek's six foot frame and into his eyes to see them fill with agreement. "But he needs to be watched." Stiles said with a glance at Scott, before looking between Derek and I. When he looked back up at Derek, fear immediately found it's way into his eyes. "You know so that none of the Argents get to him. And so that if he does… lizard out, that we can keep and eye on him. Just… just in case." Stiles said, shrinking in stature a little as he continued to make eye contact with Derek. I understood his fear-a match between him and Derek would be like a match between a monster truck and a clown car. I looked up at him. "Their right. At least until we find out how to fix this. We have no other way of protecting him, or the general public." I said. He looked down at me for a moment before nodding. "Alright. While your in school I'll watch him." Derek said, glancing down at Stiles with a look that visibly made him quiver on the inside. I nodded. "Then we switch shifts." I said. I looked over at Stiles and Scott, who nodded in agreement. "I'll take the first shift." I said, looking up at Derek who stiffened at my side. I knew the idea of leaving me here alone with Jackson left him feeling on edge. Truth be told, I was actually fond of his protective nature. It was flattering. "Go let the rest of the pack know what's going on. They need to be apart of this too." I said. And while my words struck truth in him, he was obviously reluctant to leave my side. I tilted my head to the side and put on an expression of "pleading". "I'll be okay." I said. His jaw clenched for a moment before he exhaled and nodded. He leaned down and kissed me fiercely, giving e a moment to tangle my fingers in his hair. "Oh god- get a room!" Stiles said. We parted long enough for Derek to shook him a look fierce enough to make him hide behind Scott- who seemed thoroughly uncomfortable. He looked at the ground, rubbing the back of his neck in the awkwardness of the moment. I rolled my eyes and looked up at Derek. "I'll be back in a couple of hours." "Then I'll take the next shift." Scott said. I nodded. We walked back toward where Jackson stood, looking some-what like a lost puppy. If a lost puppy had just realized it had been responsible for the deaths of A LOT of people. So… guilty in every way. Derek, Stiles, and Scott all left, and I pulled up a chair, letting it sit about four feet away from the circle he sat in. After about an hour or so of agonizing silence, and my own ability to find some sort of twilight zone for my mind, he spoke to me.

"What are you gonna tell my parents?" He asked, some-what quiet now that the realization had had time to set in. "He speaks." I said, watching his non existent reaction. "About me not being home?" He elaborated. I thought for a moment. While the question did raise a bit of a point, I was already beginning to figure out it's answer. "Well… are you willing to help us help you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He nodded silently after a quick moment of consideration. "Then you can text them, and tell them that you're spending a few days at a friend's house. Tell them it's for one of the subjects at school you need help with." He nodded, immediately taking out his phone and sending a text to who I assumed was either his mom or dad. I looked at him as he finished sending the text, sticking his phone in his pocket. He sat down cross-legged on the floor, looking up at me. "So, how'd you get involved?" He asked. "Let's just say I stumbled into the wrong town at the wrong time." I said simply, looking down at the floor for a moment. "You're… you're a werewolf." He said. I looked up at him, and nodded. "So that's why you know about all this." He said. I nodded. "Yeah. Like I said, wrong town, wrong time." His jaw clenched for a moment, like he was having a hard time breathing. "Can I ask you something?" He said. I gestured for him to "ask away". "Do you know why this happened to me?" He asked, his eyebrows narrowing at his own question. Unfortunately it was a question I didn't have a good answer to. "No. I don't know why this happened to you. In all honesty I kind of wish I did." He narrowed his eyes at me for a moment. "You don't even know me." He said. I shrugged. "That doesn't mean I agree with what happened to you either." I said, running a hand through my hair. He seemed slightly shocked at what I said, but remained quiet. For the next hour we remained in silence. Finally Scott showed up to relieve me of my shift. He walked through the door, texting someone on his phone. "Stiles is gonna take the next shift." He said. I nodded, passing him on the way out. "Hey Selene?" He said. I glanced over my shoulder at him. "Yeah?" I asked expectantly. "Thanks." He said. I nodded, heading for the abandoned basement, and what was most likely a semi-concerned Derek.


	22. Bloody Surprises

When I got back to the basement, Isaac, Boyd, and Erica were all in the subway car, talking to one another. I followed Derek's scent to his room, knocking softly before entering. He sat on the edge of his bed, his head between his hands. He looked way past exhausted. "Hey." I said, watching as his head snapped up and his eyes met mine. "Are you okay?" I asked, moving to sit next to him. He looked up at me with a slight nod. "What is it?" I asked. He sighed. "I don't think… Jackson can be saved." He said. I bit my bottom lip, taking it in. "I've checked every possible legend in my family's history, and while it mentions the Kanima's existence, it doesn't say it can be fixed." I ground my teeth together in frustration at the next thought that entered my mind. "Jackson might not make it out of this alive." I said softly. I glanced at him as he nodded. "Yeah. He might not."

I thought for a moment; there had to be some way to fix this. To fix Jackson. I mean, sure he wasn't my favorite person in the world-cocky attitude an all- but that didn't mean he deserved this. Suddenly I heard a small voice. "Hello? Is anyone there?" I looked up the same time Derek did. He heard it too. We both stood, following the sound of the voice. We walked into the main room to find the rest of the pack standing and listening. "Hello?" It called again- tiny, and fractured. I walked up the stairs and into the decreasing light of the day to find a girl, lying nearly naked minus her bra and underwear, in the alley. She was covered in so much blood I could barely smell anything else-her hair matted with a mix between the red coppery substance she was practically drowning in, and a thick layer of mud. She lay there, on the verge of what I assumed in her horrid case would be death, covering herself as best she could. "Holy- Erica!" I yelled, kneeling by the girl's side. I could smell something else in her blood- werewolf. She was like us. An omega most definitely. "Erica!" I yelled again, glancing back to see her sprinting up the steps. "What the-" She paused mid-sentence as she took a good look at the girl before us. "What is it?" Isaac called. "Stay there!" I yelled, hoping to spare what was left of the poor girl's dignity by keeping those of the opposite gender away from her long enough to get her clothed.

Erica kneeled beside me, as I stripped out of my leather jacket. Erica helped her up long enough for me to get the jacket around her shoulders. Thankfully she was slightly shorter than me, and the bottom hem of the jacket came down just barely to her mid thigh. I helped her to her feet, seeing that there was no way for her to walk in a condition like this. I swung my arm under the backs of her knees and lifted her easily, making quick business of carrying her into the basement. "What the hell?" Isaac said, his eyes widening in shock. "She's one of us- I can smell it in her blood." There was so much of it I wasn't sure where the wound was- until we got her cleaned up, there was no way of telling exactly. If she lived that long. My guess was that the wound was infected with wolfs bane- it was the only thing I could think of that would explain why she wasn't healing.

"Derek, tell me you have running water?" I said, looking over at him as a slightly shocked, and obviously concerned expression lingered in his face. He nodded, leading me into his room. He opened I a door I had ceased to notice until now on the far wall, leading me into a small bathroom. He quickly turned on the shower, before making his exit from the bathroom. I removed my now blood soaked jacket to examine the damage. Looking closely, I could see that there were three major cuts on her abdomen, along with smaller cuts on her sides, and legs. Her feet were cut up from what looked like hours of walking or running, and small rocks were lodged in their soles. I took the detaching shower head and went to work washing the blood and the mud from her hair and body, thankful she had lost consciousness for now. Were she awake this would have been much more painful. At least now she wouldn't feel anything.

As the multiple layers of blood, mud, and grime washed away, I took a good look at her face. She was my age. Her nose was small- button like. Her lips were set in what appeared to be both a smile and a scowl. Now that I could distinguish what was blood, mud, and her actually hair, I saw that it was in fact brown with red highlights. After having done the best I could to clean her of the blood, and the dirt from outside, I shut off the water and reached into the cabinet, pulling out a towel. I wrapped it around her, lifting her carefully, as she began to regain consciousness. She opened her eyes, and I saw that they were a dark, dark brown. I allowed her to stand on her own two feet, but made sure to hold her steady, as she looked around the room for a moment, obviously trying to gather her bearings. "What's your name?" I asked gently, drawing her attention to me. "Amy." She said quietly. I nodded. "Your… not human, are you Amy?" I asked, and she shook her head. "Neither are you." She said. She still seemed to be in a slight state of shock though. "No, I'm not. Do you know where you are?" I asked. She nodded. "Beacon Hills. Hunters… they… attacked me. I came into town looking for a pack." She explained, wincing at a momentary bought of pain. "I think we'd better get you wrapped up." I said, watching her as she looked around the room again. She nodded once, carefully sitting on the edge of the tub. Well- she had some explaining to do.


	23. A New Pack Member

After wrapping her midsection in gauze and medical tape, I sat down on the edge of the toilet seat and looked at her, eye-to-eye. "What happened to you?" I asked. She sighed. "It's hard to… remember everything." Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment as she struggled with the memories. "My alpha-Damien- he was killed by hunters. They found us one town over. They'd been tracking us. I was the only one that survived." She looked lost in the memory of something horrific. Her eyes welled with tears for a moment, one of them spilling over onto her cheek. I quickly handed her a piece of toilet paper, and waited for her to continue as she wiped the tears away. She took a deep breath, and continued. "When I got here this morning, it was still dark. They ambushed me, and spent the day torturing me." I flinched at the word "tortured". It made me think about my family. "When they left me alone, I managed to get away. I spent a few hours in the woods, running from them. Then I found your scent. I made sure I lost them first before coming here." She said. Well, she was smart for losing them. "I didn't want them to follow me here. Especially if they ended up finding you guys." She explained. I nodded. "Thank you for taking care of me." She said quietly. I nodded. "Stay here- I'm sure I have some clothes that will fit you." I said. She nodded, as I got up and walked through the bedroom and into the main room. Derek stood leaning against the subway car, his arms crossed over his chest. "I need to get her some clothes." I said, implying that he needed to come with me. He nodded. "Erica." I said, looking over at her where she sat on the stairs. "Go talk to her. See what she can tell you." I said. She nodded, getting up and making her way through Derek's room as we headed up the steps.

As we reached my car, I thought for a moment. "Looks like Beacon Hills is a magnet for the supernatural." I muttered, putting the keys in the ignition. He sat in the passenger's seat, his muscles stiff and rigid. I could see the wolf lurking under his human exterior- internally pacing as he thought the situation over. I pulled my door shut and sped off, quickly making it to my house. I walked up the steps and unlocked the door, Derek matching me stride for stride. I walked up the stairs to my room and grabbed my Adidas bag, pulling out a few pairs of jeans and a few tank tops. "What are we gonna do?" I asked, closing my drawer and pulling the strings to close my bag. I bit my lip, watching as he thought it over. "She came looking for a pack, Derek." I said. He looked at me for a minute. "She could be a liability…" He began. I felt something inside me brake a little. "Derek, we can't leave her on her own. She'll die. You know it. I know it. Hell, she knows it. That's why she was looking for a pack." He seemed closed off to the idea of letting her in the pack. But even suggesting we send her off on her own was insane. "Derek- that was me once!" I said, feeling the tears well in my eyes. "I was alone, just like her. I had Louise though- who does she have?! She doesn't have anyone. And that guaranteed that she will die. I know where she is right now- we can't let her die." It seemed insane for me to defend a girl I barely knew. But in a way she reminded me of myself. I knew what she was feeling. I knew what kind of things she had seen- things she had heard. I wouldn't let her go through this alone. I refused to do so.

His jaw clenched, and for a moment I thought he would say that she was on her own. But he let out a breath and nodded. "Okay. You're right. The Argents won't hesitate to kill her if she's on her own." He said. I took a deep breath, only then realizing that I'd been crying. I was shaking now, as I lifted a hand and wiped away the tears. I nodded silently, some-what ashamed that I'd cried in front of him. I tended to keep things like that to myself. Sighing, I turned around for a moment and grabbed a pair of extra shoes I had, thinking about how she was bare foot when we found her. Putting them in the bag, I felt his hand on my shoulder, and I turned to look up at him, letting the bag fall to the floor. His hand moved up to cup the side of my face, and I leaned into his touch. It was comforting. I closed my eyes, as his lips connected with mine for the briefest moment. It was warm, and slow, and left a lingering fire in my skin. But it felt like home for once, a rarity I barely ever got the pleasure of enduring. After, he pulled me against him, his arms around my waist. The embrace last for only a single moment- but it was the moment of complete irrevocability: I knew we were mates. And I was sure he did too.

On the way back to the "not so abandoned" basement, I thought about Amy. I wondered how she'd ended up like this. Was it birth? Was she bitten? As the questions flooded my mind, we pulled into the alley, quickly heading inside. Erica, Boyd, and Isaac sat on the opposite stairwell as we entered the room. "She'd not very talkative." Erica said, looking up at me from where she sat talking to Isaac. I went into Derek's room while he waited in the main room by the subway car. As I walked into the bathroom, I saw that she had barely moved an inch. "Erica's nice." She murmured, as I handed her the bag. I nodded, watching as she opened it and peered inside. "Thank you." She said. I nodded. "I'll give you your privacy." I said, walking into the main room with the rest of the pack. A few minutes later, she came out wearing the jeans and a black tank top I had packed. I glanced over at Erica Isaac and Boyd as their conversation ceased. "Thanks." She said, looking up at me. I nodded. "You said you came here looking for a pack." Boyd said, getting up and moving toward her. She nodded, glancing down at the floor. He walked up to her and held out his hand. She shook it, a slight smile quirking her lips upward. "Boyd." He said. "Amy." She said. He backed up slightly as Isaac and Erica came forward. Erica leaned against the subway car and watched as Isaac introduced himself. "Isaac." He said, shaking her hand. She nodded silently. "I'm Selene by the way." I said. She looked over at me and gave a shy smile and a nod. "You can say with us." Derek said. She looked up at him then, relief flooding her features. "Thank you. Thank you so much- I mean, I would have died if you hadn't found me." She said, glancing back and forth between the two of us. "Well- technically you found us." I said light heartedly. She smiled an honest smile at that, glancing back over at Boyd for a moment before her eyes found the floor again. Oh. So that's what was going on here. Trying to hide my grin, I lead Derek into his room, shutting the door behind me so that we could talk.


	24. Admissions of The Supernatural

"Thank you." I said, turning to face him. "For letting her stay." I said before he could respond. He simply nodded, his light eyes boring into mine. They were fiery and intense, and I could feel my knees growing weaker by the second. Each moment that passed with his eyes on me burned like an inferno. He moved forward until he was standing before me. His arms slowly made its way around my waist, pulling me close to him as his lips connected with mine. They moved slow and gentle, as his other arm wrapped around me as well. His lips made their way down to the side of my neck, leaving a fiery trail in their wake. Making his way down to my shoulder he slowly pushed down the strap of my tank top; his teeth nipping at my skin. I bit my bottom lip to keep quiet. I drew in a breath as his thumb brushed against my stomach. "You know we have company with super hearing." I muttered into his ear. He gave a low growl, straightening enough to give me one last kiss before we were forced to make our way back into the main room. I pushed up the strap of my tank top, hoping to not leave any evidence of the interlude that just took place.

As we walked back into the main room, I heard Erica and Isaac talking in the subway car, while Amy and Boyd seemed to be getting along, sitting on the stairwell chit chatting with each other. Then a thought occurred to me. "Derek, should we tell her about Jackson?" I whispered, looking up at him. "I mean, she _is_ apart of the pack now- and she might know how to help us." I said. His lips were set in a tight line, and I could see in his eyes how he weighed the pros and the cons against one another. "Okay." He said. I nodded. "Amy? Can we talk?" I asked. She looked up at me with a nod, getting up and following me into Derek's room. The three of us stood there, and I decided to start the conversation. "There is an old Archaic Latin term, in reference to a supernatural being. It's called a Kanima." I explained. Recognition flamed in her eyes. "Why do I get the sense you know what that is?" I asked. "Because I do." She said. "My mother told me stories about things like that when I was a little girl-" "So do you know how to cure it?" I asked anxiously. "Well… in legend: only true, human love can fix it." She explained. I ran a hand through my hair, cursing under my breath. "Well, we could very well be screwed." I muttered, looking up at Derek. I saw a muscle in his jaw clench for a moment. "What exactly do you mean?" He asked. "From what little I know, the only way to cure a Kanima is with love. It has to be a mutual love- and it has to be real. Then, in it's weakest, most vulnerable moment, you have to kill it." I couldn't help the physical shudder that went through me when she said "kill it". "Once it has died, the host will be reborn as a beta." He explained. I looked up at Derek. "How the hell do we fix this?" I asked angrily. "If there's one person that Jackson cares more about himself than, it's Lydia." He said. "So, in order for this to work, we have to tell her… everything?" I said, looking at him as if he were insane. He was starting to sound it too. But I could see that the very idea made his stomach twist too, because his eyes grew cold and his jaw clenched again. "It's the only way to stop him without killing him. And even if it came to that, as far as we know there is no way to kill him." He said. I thought over what he had told me, nodding once. "What's going on?" Amy asked, her eyes growing wide at our casual talk of the Kanima. "You know how those stories about the Kanima were supposedly just stories?" I asked, looking down at her as she nodded. "Well, they're a lot more truthful than you might think." I said.

We had a plan. And while it was sketchy at best, in a situation like this there's no such thing as "fool proof". After Derek had called Scott to fill him in, I was going to go find Lydia, and bring her back to the abandoned basement. Then, we would be responsible for explaining everything to her. We'd explain why we needed her help. Why she was the only one who could help Jackson. Once the plan was set, it was all a matter of carrying it out. I looked up at Derek who's entire demeanor was rigid, tense and all in all cold. "Okay. Okay- I can do this." I muttered to myself, glancing up at Derek who's mind seemed to have drifted off to somewhere unknown. Just then, Scott made his way down the stairs, walking into the room. "She's at home right now. I don't know how long she'll be there, so you'd better be quick." He said, looking first at me, and then Derek. I turned and looked up at him. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine, wrapping an arm around my waist. It was like no matter how many times he kissed me, it sent shivers through my entire body, and set my senses on fire.

After a heated moment we were forced to part due to our short window of time. I followed Scott out of the basement and to my car. I figured she'd have a harder time running away if she were in the car with me. Even then, I was simply going to talk to her. Tell her I wanted nothing more than a conversation. 'Yeah- in an abandoned basement with a bunch of werewolves.' A voice in my mind said. I sighed, twirling a piece of my hair around my finger for a moment. "You think she'll listen to me?" I said, as we drove toward her house. I looked over at Scott, who seemed just as nervous as I was. "I hope so." He muttered, only adding fuel to the fire that was already making me as nervous as I was.

I parked outside of Lydia's house, and took a survey of the perimeter. There was only one car in the driveway, and I'd seen it in the parking lot before, so I knew it had to be hers. Undoing my seatbelt, I turned to Scott. "Stay here. I'll be right back." I said, quickly getting out of the car and shutting the door. I walked up the porch steps and rang the doorbell. I waited, hearing her high-heels click against the floor. She came to the door and opened it, looking at me for a moment. "Hi. How can I help you?" She asked. Oh- if only she knew. "Hi. Um, my name's Selene. I'm in your English class- actually, I sit next to you. But uh, well, I was wondering if we could talk for a minute." She shrugged. "About what?" She asked. Damn it. It wasn't like I could tell her that she was practically the only person in Beacon Hills that didn't know about the supernatural beings in the vicinity. "Well… it involves Jackson-" I began. "Why? What happened? Is he hurt?" She rattled off questions like rapid fire. "No, he's… he's fine." I said, hoping to calm her down a little. But she suddenly seemed very willing to talk to me. "Can… can we go somewhere to-" "Sure." She said, pulling the front door shut behind her. I nodded, leading her back to my car. As we neared it, she noticed Scott and gave a slight smile. "Hey Scott." She said, climbing into the back seat. "Hey… Lydia." He said nervously. His heartbeat picked up the minute her car door was shut.

I made quick business of getting to the abandoned basement, but decided against parking in the alley for the sake of keeping her from running out of fear. Though even now- in one of the least populated places in Beacon Hills, she seemed relatively comfortable. I parked just a little ways from the entrance, before we got out of the car. As we walked around to the alley-way, I could feel the rise in tension- it practically radiated off of Scott. We walked down the stairs, and into the main room. I made sure to shut the door behind me, before heading down the stairs.

"Where… where are we?" Lydia asked, her voice shaky, and her heart beating fast. "Hello, Lydia." I heard Derek say. He stepped out of the train car, and I watched as Scott stood next to him. "Lydia." I said, hearing her heart beat pick up as she backed up against the wall. "What the hell is going on?" She asked, her eyes wide and confused. "You said this was about Jackson." She said, looking over at me. I nodded. "It is. But it's also about you." I said carefully, moving toward her a little. She flinched when I touched her arm, but I simply led her over to the stairs and sat her down. "Listen- you know how you've been having those hallucinations?" Her eyes became wide, and her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something. For a moment though, she was silent. "How… how did you know about that?" She asked. "You've been seeing red eyes, haven't you? In your dreams- your delusions." She had started shaking then, as if she were freezing cold. "What… how-" "Their the eyes of the old alpha." I said, glancing up at Derek who stood a few feet away, listening silently to the conversation. "Alpha?" She asked, confused. I nodded. "An alpha werewolf." She froze then, both recognition and fear in her eyes. "You… are insane." She said, looking at me and Derek. I bit my bottom lip. "Derek- show her." I said, looking up at him. He nodded once, and let himself shift partially. As the final changes became apart, so did his red eyes. And suddenly, Lydia was screaming her head off. Yelling for help and trying to scramble up the steps. But I held her in place, turning her to face me. "Lydia!" I yelled, forcing her to meet my eyes. She stopped dead, and I turned her so that she could look over at Derek. He stood still, watching us very carefully. "He won't hurt you." I murmured, as she began to calm down a little. "He… How…" She looked at me with tears in her eyes, and I could tell she was overwhelmed, and confused. "Are you-" I nodded, as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "Jackson needs your help, Lydia. See, something happened to him. He's not… human any more. He's something else. And you're the only person who can help us fix him." She began to sober, and she glanced back at Derek, as he shifted back to his human form. "I'm the only one who can help him?" She asked, looking back at me. I nodded. She nodded once. "Okay. For Jackson." She said. She was still visibly shaky, but for a human- she was strong.


	25. Rebirth of the Kanima

We drove silently to the old Hale house. Lydia sat in the back, staring off into empty space. Derek sat in the passenger's seat, staring out the windshield- his eyes were clouded and I assumed he was just as concerned about this as I was. If Lydia couldn't save Jackson- no one could. And that only left one other choice in getting rid of the Kanima- a choice that made it impossible for Jackson to make it out of this alive. I sighed, my lungs feeling hollow, like I was somehow suffocating. As we arrived on the outskirts of the woods, I parked the car and turned to look over at her. "Ready?" I asked. She nodded once, her eyes bloodshot, and wide. I glanced at Derek, who gave me a slight nod of understanding, before getting out of the car. He was thinking the same thin I was- god, I hoped this would work. I watched Lydia with a close eye, waiting for her to pass out or something. But she simply waited for us to point out the way. Derek led us through the forest, and I followed in close suit. I watched him as he walked- tall, strong frame. He was tense, and controlled- I could see it from his gait. And in all honesty, so was I.

As we entered the clearing, I was immediately hit with Stiles' scent. He was still here. We walked up to the front door, as Derek pushed it open. Stiles sat on the stairs, looking down at Jackson, who sat on the floor- still in his circle. "What are you-" Stiles began. Derek made his way over to him, making quick business of explaining why we were here. Jackson stood up as Lydia entered the room, his eyes wide with shock. She made a move to run up to him for an embrace. I stopped her, pulling her back before she broke the circle. "What-" I pointed down at the mountain ash, as her gaze followed my finger. "What the hell is that?" She asked, looking up at me. "Mountain ash. And right now- the only thing keeping him from killing us." I said, looking up at the guilty expression on Jackson's face. He looked down at the circle around his feet for a moment. He tried to take a step forward, only to find that he couldn't go any where. Jaw clenching, he looked up at us- his eyes reptilian, and unnatural. I heard Lydia scream, and saw her start to move back toward the far wall. Stiles quickly made his way to my side, backing up slightly. I on the other hand refused to move. If he really was trapped in there, we should be okay. Derek stood watching him, a slight look of shock on his face. "Who are you?" I asked, talking to the person behind the eyes. The person that was controlling him. An unnerving smile appeared on Jackson's face, and ho looked directly at me- seeing me. I was no longer talking to Jackson. This was his puppet master I was looking at.

"You and your little wolf pack haven't figured it out yet?" He said. The voice didn't belong to Jackson- in fact it didn't belong to anything human. It was deep, and terrifying- it sounded like what I imagined the voice of Satan himself would sound like. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Who are you?" I asked again. I small laugh emerged from Jackson. "I am god." He said, looking me in the eye. I clenched my jaw in anger- I was tired of this "biblical- philosophical" bull. This needed to end- now. I felt myself begin to shift, my claws lengthening from my finger nails; my canines sharpening and elongating; my eyes turning a golden hue; the tips of my ears coming to a point. I let out a raging growl, watching him carefully. Behind me, I heard Lydia's frightened whimpers and cries. Glancing back at her, I saw complete fear in her eyes. Fear, and… hope. Looking over at Stiles, I saw that he too, was surprised at my appearance. Humans… they'd always be afraid of us. I looked up at Derek, and saw understanding in his eyes. He could see me- even now. He could see who I was. Behind what I was.

Looking at Jackson, I saw that his skin had begun to shift into dark green scales. His teeth were sharpening- his fingernails, venom infected claws. Suddenly, stiles was on the other side of the room, grabbing the bag of mountain ash, and taking out a handful. "Get back!" He yelled, looking at Derek and I. I did so, watching as he blew the mountain ash into the perimeter of the circle. As it landed on Jackson's now changing skin, small streams of smoke came from the wounds. He let out a piercing howl, scrambling to scratch the volatile substance off of his skin. "Stop!" Lydia screeched, running up to Stiles. He looked down at her, and I could see in his eyes what looked to be both wanting, and hurt. His jaw clenched, but he refrained from using the mountain ash on Jackson. I looked at his half-human half-lizard form, as he crumpled onto the floor in a fetal position. Lydia knelt beside him, watching him with tears in her eyes. "Jackson?" She said softly. He looked up at her, one eye blue, the other still yellow. She reached past the circle and touched the still human part of his face, swallowing and taking a deep breath. He leaned into her touch, and now I knew. Now, was the only opportunity we would have against him. "Stiles- break the line." I said, looking up at him. "But-" "Do it." I said sternly. His jaw clenched, but he followed my order. The moment the circle was broken, Jackson's eyes snapped open, and suddenly he was on his feet. Lydia scrambled away in surprise, watching him in horror. I knew what he would do- he was gonna try and make a run for it. I moved forward at lightning speed, sinking my claws into his chest where his heart was. His body went rigid, and he choked for a moment, gargling his own blood. "Jackson!" Lydia screamed- forcing Stiles to hold back. Slowly, Jackson began to become himself again. He looked up at me with both sadness, and gratitude in his eyes. "You'll be okay." I whispered to him, as his eyes lulled in the back of his head, and he went limp. I caught him, gently setting him on the floor. Eventually, Lydia broke Stiles' grasp and ran toward Jackson's limp form. "Get back!" I yelled, grabbing her arm. "You killed him!" She yelled, turning on me. I yanked her backward, making sure she was no where near the body. Slowly, but surely, his wounds began to heal. His face regained it's color. His chest moved, and he regained the ability to breathe. Lydia was silent, watching in disbelief. His eyes flashed open, glowing an electric blue. He gasped, sitting up with his hand to his chest. Lydia tried getting out of my grasp, but I continued to hold onto her. Jackson was a newly turned werewolf- there was no telling of his reaction. He looked up at her, and his eyes seemed calm as they returned to normal. He stood up, looking around the room for a moment. Finally, I let her go as she fell into his arms. Suddenly, Scott burst through the door. "What hap-" He looked over at Lydia and Jackson, stopping mid sentence. "It worked." I said, looking over at him. His eyebrows raised, looking back over at Jackson and Lydia, who still stood in a solid embrace. I sighed, as Derek came up next to me. "Looks like everything's okay." I murmured, glancing up at him. He nodded once, glancing quickly over at Jackson before wrapping an arm around my waist, and pulling me close.

Author's Note: **While this is the end of the first part, I will create more in a second story- if you would like to read it, please go to my profile page, and go down to "My stories": It will be titled: "Madness"- hope you enjoyed!**


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